PHILADELPHIA -- The slumping Denver Nuggets needed a spark, and on Monday night against the Philadelphia 76ers, they passed the torch to one another, all game long.

Danilo Gallinari scored 24 points and Jamal Murray and Will Barton added 22 apiece as the Nuggets beat the Sixers 106-98.

Barton contributed 16 points in the second half, seven in the game's final 49.7 seconds. Wilson Chandler also notched all 10 of his in the fourth quarter, lifting Denver to just its second victory in the last seven games.

The Nuggets also forced 14 of Philadelphia's 19 turnovers in the second half, the result of "terrific" defense in the estimation of coach Mike Malone.

"And," he said, "a lot of different guys stepped up."

Murray notched 14 of his points in the second quarter. Barton tried to follow suit in the third quarter, but after he airballed a 3-point attempt early in the period, Malone sent Murray to the scorer's table to check into the game for him.

"I think Will Barton saw Jamal, and Will ramped it up and played well and I took Jamal (back)," Malone said. "I have to use that trick more often for some of our guys."

Barton actually walked off the court, but said the referees wouldn't let Murray enter the game.

"That kind of saved me," he said. "Jamal was my motivation. We're both competitors and we both had it going."

The Sixers, who were down 81-70 with 9:20 left and 91-81 with 5:09 to play, crept within four, 100-96, with 1:14 left. Barton then nailed a 3-pointer and, after a basket by Joel Embiid, swished four free throws.

Sergio Rodriguez scored a season-high 17 points for Philadelphia, which lost its seventh straight. Dario Saric and Ersan Ilyasova also finished with 17 apiece, with each adding eight rebounds.

Embiid contributed 16 points and five blocked shots for Philadelphia.

As in their previous game against Boston, the Sixers had 10 available players. Jahlil Okafor (illness), Jerryd Bayless (wrist) and Robert Covington (knee) sat out with injuries, and Nerlens Noel (knee) and Ben Simmons (foot) have yet to play this season.

With his team so short-handed, Philadelphia coach Brett Brown thought there was "zero margin for error," but the Sixers' 14 second-half turnovers led to 12 Denver points.

"It's hard to find a way to win with that volume of turnovers," he said.

Embiid, the gifted rookie center, had a particularly frustrating third quarter, missing all six of his shots from the floor and committing two of his three turnovers. He finished the game 5-of-15 from the floor.

"We're used to seeing Joel have superhuman nights," Brown said. "It looked like his balance was off, and there were times where there were hands on balls (by defenders). It's just part of a young man's growth. I don't think we need to read too deeply into it."

The 7-2 Embiid was guarded for a long stretch in the second half by 6-9 Darrell Arthur, though the Nuggets were quick to double-team the rookie.

"I've got to do a better job of passing out of it when I see two people on me," Embiid said. "Next time it's on me to do a better job of passing out."

Denver did not take its first lead until Gallinari sank two foul shots with 3:55 left in the third quarter to put the Nuggets ahead 64-63.

By the end of the quarter, the Denver lead was 74-70, helped in no small part by Murray's 17-foot scoop shot from the top of the circle, while closely guarded by Embiid.

"It's stuff you practice," Murray said. "It's just another shot. It looked crazy but it's something I have in my arsenal if I ever need to go to it."

The Nuggets rattled off the first seven points of the fourth quarter as well. Murray nailed a 3-pointer and Barton added a layup in that stretch.

Down 91-81 with 5:09 left, the Sixers used a 3-point barrage to get back into it. In the last 5:32, Rodriguez hit two from the arc, and Nik Stauskas, Ilyasova and Embiid connected as well, making it 100-96.

The Sixers opened a 27-18 lead after a quarter with the help of nine Denver turnovers, and continued to keep the Nuggets at arm's length until the visitors scored 10 of the first half's last 13 points to cut the gap to 53-51.

Murray had 14 of his 17 first-half points in the second quarter, four coming in that flurry in the closing minutes. Gallinari added 13 points for the half for Denver, while Saric and Gerald Henderson had 10 each to pace the Sixers.

NOTES: Denver G Gary Harris (foot) missed his 12th straight game and C Nikola Jokic (wrist) missed his third in a row. Coach Mike Malone said before the game that the Nuggets hope to have Jokic by the end of their current six-game road trip. ... Philadelphia will be without C Joel Embiid and C Jahlil Okafor for Tuesday's game in Memphis. Embiid has not been playing back-to-back games this season after missing two seasons following two foot surgeries. Okafor continues to recover from illness. ... Sixers G-F Nik Stauskas made his second start of the season in place of F Robert Covington (knee). Stauskas finished with two points on 1-of-7 shooting in nearly 35 minutes, and is just 4-of-24 over his last three games.