Jack Dempsey / AP

Denver big man Marcus Camby will be sidelined with a broken finger on his shooting hand.

updated 4:00 p.m. ET Dec. 22, 2006

DENVER - Marcus Camby of the Denver Nuggets expects to be sidelined a couple of weeks after breaking a finger on his shooting hand against the Washington Wizards.

The 6-foot-11 center-forward is averaging 11.7 points and 11 rebounds. His absence is a blow to a team already without two suspended players — Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith.

“It hurts,” Camby said. “It’s still swelled up. I’m trying to put off surgery so I can get back as quickly as I possibly can.”

Camby was injured after attempting to take a charge in the third quarter. He tried to cushion his fall by placing his hand out. He finished the game and X-rays taken afterward didn’t reveal the fracture. His hand swelled the next day and an MRI showed the fracture.

Anthony was suspended for 15 games and Smith for 10 for their roles in a brawl in the final minutes of a Dec. 16 game in New York. Smith said during Friday’s shootaround that he has appealed the suspension, but hasn’t heard from the league.

The Nuggets play at home Friday night against Sacramento. Allen Iverson was expected to join the Nuggets on Friday after being acquired Tuesday in a trade with the Philadelphia 76ers. He has been kept away by a snowstorm that shut down Denver International Airport for two days.

“My hope is he arrives, probably very late,” Nuggets coach George Karl said. “We’ll get him on the court. I’ll talk to him before the game and see how much he wants to play.”

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