George Karl Earns 1000th Career Win as Nuggets Beat Raptors

Filed under: Nuggets, Raptors, NBA Coaches

TORONTO (AP) -- George Karl found peace and contentment in recording a coaching milestone.

Karl earned his 1,000th coaching victory, as Al Harrington 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 spectators as fans next to the Nuggets' bench bowed to him in the final seconds of the game. He was hugged by Denver's players and assistant coaches at the final buzzer.

After doing radio and television interviews on the court, Karl shared a moment of "peacefulness and contentment" with his team inside the locker room.

"I just felt together with them, I felt connected with them," Karl said. "A lot of times during an NBA season, the coach and players aren't really connected, they're fighting a lot. This was a moment, not only on the court but in the locker room afterwards, there was a great connection."

Chauncey Billups called it "a moment that you'll never forget."

 

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