DENVER -- Michael Malone made the case for DeMarcus Cousins being the best center in the NBA, and then the Sacramento big man backed up the words with another big night.

Cousins scored a game-high 31 points to go with six rebounds and six assists, and the Kings beat the Denver Nuggets 120-113 on Tuesday night

Darren Collison had a season-high 26 points and seven assists for the Kings (15-19), who have won five of their last seven and won a matchup of teams battling for playoff positioning.

Danilo Gallinari scored 24 points, Nikola Jokic added 18 and Jusuf Nurkic contributed 16 off the bench for the Nuggets (14-21).

Malone coached Cousins in Sacramento before becoming Denver's head coach last season. He is fond of his former player, and before the game praised Cousins' all-around game.

"You tell me something he can't do," Malone said. "I don't say that just because I coached him for a year and a half and I have a relationship with him. His talent is immense. He's an emotional player, he's passionate and he's a competitor."

Cousins showed a bit of everything against Denver. He scored around the basket, drove for layups and drained three 3-pointers Tuesday night.

"Their bigs had a tendency to just want to lay on me and try to be physical," Cousins said. "They think it's about holding me up and I took advantage of that and used their advantage against them."

The Kings are trying to get back to the postseason for the first time in 11 seasons. After Tuesday, they hold a game lead over Portland for the last spot in the Western Conference.

While there is still more than half the season left, a decade-long drought has sparked early interest in their chances.

"Every win on the road is important, especially given the circumstances," Collison said. "We're trying to hold onto the eighth spot and try to move up so every win from here on out is important."

The Nuggets had won five of seven before their current three-game losing streak, which started Friday at home against Philadelphia. Denver is now 7-10 at Pepsi Center, a building where it went 38-3 during its last playoff season of four years ago.

Denver has allowed 120 or more points in its three-game skid.

"Our offense is very good. Our defense is not," Gallinari said. "If you want to win games in the NBA you have to depend of your defense night in and night out. We didn't do that tonight."

The Kings made themselves at home Tuesday, taking a lead in the second quarter and holding it the rest of the way. Sacramento scored 15 straight points to go ahead 50-36 and led by 16 after holding Denver without a field goal for nearly seven minutes in the third quarter.

The Nuggets' only points were free throws and a layup by Nurkic after they missed 10 straight shots and four turnovers.

Denver chipped away at the lead in the third quarter behind Gallinari's 13 points. Denver got within three and had a chance to tie it late in the period but couldn't convert.

The Kings pushed the lead back to seven early in the fourth but the Nuggets again got within a possession of tying it. Anthony Tolliver responded with four straight points to push the lead to seven, and former Nugget Arron Afflalo hit a corner 3-pointer to make it 111-103 late in the fourth.

Afflalo finished with 19 points in his return to the lineup and Kosta Koufos scored 18.

Collison hit another 3-pointer on Cousin's sixth assist to get the lead to 11 with 2:28 left.

"(Collison) gets in a nice rhythm, he hits that clinching 3 at the end," Sacramento coach Dave Joerger said. "It was a good play by him and DeMarcus in a two-man game."

NOTES: The Nuggets were without F Kenneth Faried, who missed his second straight game with a back injury. Coach Michael Malone said he didn't think it was a long-term situation, but the team wanted to be cautious with him. ... Kings F Rudy Gay (right hip flexor strain) and G Ty Lawson (sinus fracture) were out of the lineup. Gay has missed three straight games. This was Lawson's first game out since suffering the injury on Saturday. ... Nuggets F Darrell Arthur was active after missing Monday's game with a sore knee. ... The Kings start a season-long seven-game homestand Wednesday against Miami.