Friday, December 14, 2001 - As Mike Evans walked off the Pepsi Center floor Thursday, he blew a victory kiss to his wife, Kim, and quietly said something to himself about his "friend" Dan Issel as he approached the tunnel where all the trouble began two days earlier.

 
Nuggets assistant coach Mike Evans, left, filling in for the suspended Dan Issel, listens to a call from a game official.  
Evans is the Nuggets' interim head coach while Issel serves a four-game suspension for a disparaging ethnic remark he made to a fan after Tuesday's loss to Charlotte. Thursday, the Nuggets got a chance to exhale from all the drama by snapping a five-game losing streak with a 89-86 victory over Memphis.