Atlanta, GA (Sports Network) - Joe Johnson led a balanced Atlanta attack with 22 points and five assists as the Hawks built a sizeable cushion by halftime, then held on for a 104-93 win over the Denver Nuggets at Philips Arena.

Marvin Williams had 19 points and nine rebounds, and Josh Childress added 17 in 35 minutes off the bench for the Hawks, winners of two in a row and three of four overall.

Carmelo Anthony went off for 36 points and 11 rebounds and Allen Iverson added 27 to go with four assists, but Denver was somewhat shorthanded in the frontcourt and couldn't recover from its big early hole.

Kenyon Martin did not dress because of a staph infection, while the long-term status of forward Nene is uncertain after he had a testicular tumor removed earlier Tuesday.

J.R. Smith had 21 points before he and Iverson were both ejected in the final minute, and the Nuggets lost for the third time in their last four outings.

Iverson passed Larry Bird for 22nd place on the NBA's all-time career scoring list, finishing the game with 21,815 points.

"It's an honor," Iverson said of Bird. "Obviously, (Bird was) one of the greatest players to ever play the game - arguably the best shooter to play the game. He's a legend, a Hall of Fame player. So I feel like it's an honor, and without the coaches that I've had, the teammates that I've had, it wouldn't be possible. A lot of the credit goes to those guys, too."

Down as many as 23 in the second half, Denver pulled within 12 three separate times during the final stanza, but couldn't get any closer until Josh Smith hit a three and Anthony followed with a fadeaway jumper to make it 101-93 with 1:47 remaining.

But Iverson was called for a questionable charging foul to give Atlanta the ball back, then received two straight technicals after losing the ball out of bounds, resulting in his ejection and effectively killing the Nuggets' hopes of a comeback.

Smith was also tossed after receiving just one technical foul with 38.9 seconds remaining, apparently frustrated for the same reasons as Iverson.

Anthony Johnson finished with 13 points and six assists for the Hawks, while Al Horford has 12 points and eight boards and Smith added 10.

"They're a little shorthanded and banged up," Johnson said of Denver. "But they still have two big scorers with Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson. So any time those two walk in the building, they're giving themselves a chance to win. Tonight we jumped on them early, had a 20-point lead, and were able to hold on."

Atlanta jumped out to an early 16-6 advantage, and led 34-22 after the first. Four straight points from Childress pushed the lead to 42-25 with 9:43 to go in the second, and an 11-5 spurt to close the half gave the Hawks a 65-44 cushion at the break.

The lead continued to hover around 20 points throughout the third quarter, and Atlanta took an 82-67 edge into the fourth.