TORONTO (AP)—George Karl earned his 1,000th coaching victory, as Al Harrington(notes) scored a season-high 31 points and Nene added 26 to help the Denver Nuggets hold off the Toronto Raptors 123-116 on Friday night.

The seventh coach in NBA history with 1,000 wins, Karl also notched his 900th in Toronto, a 114-107 victory on Dec. 31, 2008. He shook hands with some fans next to the Nuggets’ bench in the final seconds of the game and was hugged by Denver’s players and assistant coaches at the final buzzer.

Chauncey Billups scored 21 points and Gary Forbes(notes) had 15 in place of the injured Carmelo Anthony as the Nuggets snapped a two-game losing streak. J.R. Smith scored 11 points for Denver.
Toronto Raptors forward Amir Johnson ,left, battles for the ball against Denver Nuggets forward Nene, right, during first-half NBA basketball game action in Toronto on Friday, Dec. 10, 2010.

Former Nugget Linas Kleiza set season highs with 26 points and 12 rebounds, and Leandro Barbosa matched his season high with 22 points, but Toronto lost its fourth straight. The Raptors have dropped six of eight.

Andrea Bargnani scored 24 and Sonny Weems had 21.

Anthony missed his second straight game because of a sore right knee, with Forbes starting in his place. Anthony, the 10th-leading scorer in the NBA at 22.8 points per game, also sat out Wednesday’s loss at Boston, the only other game he’s missed this season.

Trailing by 12 points to begin the final quarter, Toronto cut it to 111-104 on a 3-pointer by Weems with 4:28 to play. Smith answered with a 3 for Denver, restoring the 10-point lead.

After Bargnani hit a jumper and Nene made two at the line, Kleiza cut it 116-109 by making a 3-pointer with 2:18 left. After a timeout, Harrington drove for a layup but landed awkwardly and injured his left ankle. He stayed in the game.

Toronto wasn’t done, and a 3-pointer by Bargnani made it 120-116 with 46 seconds to go. But after a missed shot by Billups, Weems lost the ball out of bounds, giving possession back to Denver. Billups sealed it with a pair of free throws.

Billups scored 15 points in the first, going 8 for 8 at the line, as Denver led 39-33 after one quarter.

Kleiza scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the second quarter, but Harrington replied with 16 points and five rebounds as Denver widened its lead, holding a 74-65 edge at the half.

Forbes scored 13 points in the third as the Nuggets led by as many as 19 before Toronto ended the quarter on a 6-0, cutting the deficit to 98-86 heading into the fourth.

The teams combined for 22 3-pointers, including 12 by the Nuggets.