ORLANDO, Fla. -- Denver Nuggets coach Mike Malone doesn't judge the performance of veteran Danilo Gallinari by the number of 3-point shots he makes, but by the number of free throws he takes.

The Nuggets depend on it. The more he takes, the better they play.

Gallinari scored a team-high 21 points, but it was the 11 free throws he took that was key in the 121-113 victory over the Orlando Magic Saturday night at the Amway Center.

"When he gets to the foul line like that, good things happen for the Denver Nuggets," Malone said. "When he's aggressive and attacks the basket like that, he's a great player. And that sets the tone. That's what we need from him."

The Nuggets (9-15) snapped a two-game losing streak Saturday and handed the Magic (10-15) their third consecutive loss.

Gallinari hit 10 of his 11 free throws and two of his three 3-point attempts. He had six rebounds and three assists.

The Nuggets won for just the second time in the last six games. The last time they won -- beating the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday -- was the last time Gallinari took at least 10 free throws.

"This is what I need to do every night, be aggressive," Gallinari said. "When I'm aggressive and get to the line, it helps everyone. It opens things up for everyone else. Hopefully, I can continue to do that. That would be good for us."

Denver's Will Barton, who was quiet much of the game, scored nine points in the last two minutes to seal the victory. He finished with 16 points.

Jusuf Nurkic had 17 points and eight rebounds for the Nuggets. Juan Hernangomez and Nikola Jokic each scored 14 points.

Evan Fournier led the Magic with 24 points. Serge Ibaka had 22 points and four rebounds.

Reserve Jeff Green contributed 17 points for Orlando. Center Bismack Biyombo had 12 points and six rebounds, Aaron Gordon added 11 points D.J. Augustin finished with 10.

"We certainly have slipped on the defensive end," Magic coach Frank Vogel said. "Most of it was on the interior. We were kind of a step slow on the defensive end tonight. We played against a good offensive team, and it's frustrating that we didn't get the job done."

Damjan Rudez, who didn't play in the first three quarters, hit a 3-pointer to give the Magic a 106-102 lead with 6:32 remaining. It was his first shot of the game. And his last.

Denver responded by scoring the next 10 points. Gallinari and Darrell Arthur hit back-to-back 3-pointers for a 112-106 lead. The Magic never recovered.

"It was just too easy for them tonight," Gordon said. "We didn't do anything to take them out of their offensive rhythm, and that isn't good enough for us."

The Magic led 95-92 going into the fourth quarter, getting 10 points in the third period from both Fournier and Augustine.

Nurkic scored eight points in the first four minutes of the second half when the Nuggets grabbed a 75-64 lead.

The Magic rebounded to take an 81-80 lead when Fournier hit three baskets in a two-minute stretch.

Denver led 65-58 at halftime after shooting 55.3 percent from the field and making 5 of 9 3-point attempts.

Ibaka led all scorers with 15 points at intermission, but Gallinari, Faried and Hernangomez each had 12 for Denver.

The Nuggets led by as many as 11 points in the second quarter.

Hernangomez, who had scored only three points combined in the previous five games, hit four 3-point shots in a span of 3:15 in the second quarter, giving the Nuggets a 10-point lead.

Hernangomez was the 15th pick of the 2016 NBA Draft after playing last season in Spain.

NOTES: Nuggets PG Nuggets PG Emmanuel Mudiay returned to action Saturday after missing Thursday's game with a sprained ankle. ... The Magic were without C Nikola Vucevic (back bruise), who was hurt Friday night in Charlotte. His absence allowed the Magic to call up rookie C Stephen Zimmerman from their Development League team, the Erie BayHawks. Earlier this week, Zimmerman set a BayHawks franchise record with 24 rebounds in one game. ... The Magic are considering a stint in the D-League for second-year G Mario Hezonja, who has fallen out of the playing rotation. Hezonja has been playing only mop-up minutes and isn't happy. ... Both teams looked a little weary at the start, which was no surprise. The Magic were playing their fourth game in five nights. The Nuggets were playing their fifth game on a six-game, 11-day road trip. ... Nuggets backup PG Jameer Nelson, who played 10 seasons with the Magic, was averaging 27 minutes and 9.7 points coming into the game. ... Nuggets reserve F Wilson Chandler is averaging 16.9 points and 7.3 rebounds, second and third, respectively, in the NBA among reserve players.