Allen Iverson had 22 points and 10 assists in his eagerly anticipated Nuggets debut last night, as Sacramento snapped a cold streak with their 101-96 defeat of Denver. The Rocky Mountain News’ Chris Tomasson points out his new teammates are showing considerable respect upon the Answer’s arrival.

Nuggets guard DerMarr Johnson had no problem giving up No. 3 to newly acquired guard Allen Iverson.

“I think No. 3 looks a lot better on him,” said Johnson, who switched to No. 8 because he’s a fan of the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant, who wore that number before switching to No. 24 this season. “He’s got a legacy behind that number. I ain’t done much with it.”

Johnson got a call from Nuggets equipment manager Sparky Gonzales, asking him to switch.

He said Gonzales told him, “Don’t shoot the messenger.”

Does Johnson want anything from Iverson?

“I’m not going to request anything,” he said. “If he wants to give me something out of his kindness, that’s fine.”

Paging Wizznutzz, there’s been an Awvee Storey sighting in Bismark, North Dakota. On the bright side, Storey apparently took out a D-League teammate that had 6 inches and 15 pounds on him. There is the small matter of the other guy nearly being killed, however, but in honor of A.I.’s return to active play, we’ll have no more discussion of something that happened at practice.