Allen Iverson scored 22 points, 12 of them in the third quarter, to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 104-78 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday.

The other All-Star of the team, Carmelo Anthony, posted 16 points and hauled in eight rebounds for Denver. The Nuggets are at their first win in the preseason after losing the first game 109-106 to the Detroit Pistons on Sunday.

After the first half, the Nuggets were up by just six points; an insignificant margin at that stage of the game, but Iverson ignited the offence and connected on 4-of-7 shots from the floor as Denver outscored Milwaukee 33-15 in the third quarter. Overall, Iverson shot 7-of-15 from the field for Denver.

For Bucks, Charlie Bell scored 17 points, Mo Williams added 16 and Yi Jianlian, Milwaukee's first overall pick, had 9 points, and 7 rebounds in 20 minutes of action. Milwaukee has lost both its preseason exhibition games.

Denver forward Kenyon Martin resumed playing after surgery on his right knee kept him off the court since Nov. 3, 2006. He finished the game with 11 points and five rebounds.

"It just felt good to be back out there on the court with the team, man. Just get back out there, and when you get up and down the court you try not to be too excited because it's still the pre-season," Martin said. "But you still feel good. Those guys know what I can do. I played with those guys before so they know I can do. It just feels good to be a part of it."

Although Yi has performed well enough for a debut and let everybody see his talent sparks, it seems that he is more comfortable on the perimeter than in the paint, a fact that he also acknowledged.

"Inside is my weak point. I need to protect the ball better and get stronger so we can play better inside," Yi said in a translated statement.