DENVER – Mike Sweetney’s wild rookie ride climaxed last night when he received his first NBA start. But he lasted just three minutes before picking up two quick fouls. Sweetney went scoreless in nine minutes, picking up four fouls. In Lenny Wilkens’ constantly evolving starting lineup, Sweetney started at power forward, with Kurt Thomas moving to center – the fourth different starting frontcourt in five games.

It was a strange decision by Wilkens, now 10-11, considering Allan Houston was back for the first time in a month and hadn’t yet played with Tim Thomas. Wilkens said he did it to improve the team’s recent ineptness on the boards. Sweetney, picked No. 9 last June by Scott Layden, had been placed on the injured list three separate times this season. “It’s a great feeling, I’ve come a long way,” Sweetney said beforehand.