PHILADELPHIA -- The Denver Nuggets, chided by coach Michael Malone for their lackluster play, awakened just in the nick of time Saturday afternoon.

The Philadelphia 76ers, meanwhile, fell asleep down the stretch again.

Forward Danilo Gallinari scored 24 points, including the go-ahead dunk with 47.9 seconds left, as the Nuggets rallied for a 108-105 victory over the Sixers.

Backup guard Will Barton added 16 points and nine rebounds for Denver (8-13), which reeled off 10 straight points late in the fourth quarter to win its second straight after an eight-game losing streak.

"I ripped our guys at halftime," Malone said. "Hated our effort, hated our defense."

He particularly hated that the Nuggets seemed complacent after beating the Toronto Raptors 106-105 on Thursday.

"You end an eight-game losing streak and win one game (and say), 'Hey, we're OK,'" he said. "No we're not. I told them, 'Don't play their record. You have to play this team hard because they compete.' To our credit, in the fourth quarter we finally got our defense in the game ... which says a lot about our guys."

Gallinari, who made half his 14 shots and grabbed seven rebounds, thought Malone's pep talk had the desired effect.

"He was right on everything he said," he said. "He gave us a good boost. ... I can't imagine flying back tonight with a loss."

Forward Kenneth Faried had 12 points and nine rebounds for Denver. Another reserve guard, Jameer Nelson, a product of Philadelphia's Saint Joseph's University, scored 10 points, including the game-tying jumper with 1:26 left. He also assisted on Gallinari's dunk.

Forward Robert Covington had 18 points and 10 rebounds for Philadelphia (1-20), which was without rookie center Jahlil Okafor, the team's leading scorer and rebounder. He was serving the second and last game of a disciplinary suspension.

Guard Isaiah Canaan scored 15 points for the Sixers, who led from late in the second quarter until the closing minutes, and were up by as many as 11 in the third period. They again folded down the stretch, however. They have held fourth-quarter leads in six of their last seven losses.

"Right now," coach Brett Brown said, "it's extremely frustrating, trying to close out a game."

Center Nerlens Noel believes consistency is the biggest issue.

"This one definitely hurts, like most of them do," he said. "I think we definitely did have control the whole game."

The Sixers' lead stood at 102-98 after a free throw by Noel with 2:41 remaining, but Barton made two foul shots and after a Philadelphia turnover, Nelson nailed a jumper from the left wing over Noel to tie it.

Philadelphia came up empty on its next trip as well, and Nelson drove the baseline and found Gallinari all alone under the basket for his go-ahead dunk.

"I saw my man turning his head at the same time Jameer was driving the ball and I was just reading my man," Gallinari said.

Two free throws by Faried and two more by Randy Foye extended Denver's lead to 108-102 with 5.8 seconds left. Covington tossed in a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Nelson, a native of nearby Chester, slept at home Friday night and played before some 50 friends and family members, which is "always special," he said.

"But," he added, "you can't get caught up, because you'll get distracted."

For a long time, it appeared that he and his teammates were, but not at the end.

"That team over there is a lot better than their record," he said. "They play extremely hard and are in every game."

Canaan made all four of his 3-point attempts to generate 12 points in the first half, when the Sixers shot 60 percent, including 64.3 percent from 3-point range (9-of-14), to forge a 59-52 lead. Both percentages were season highs for a half, and the nine triples were the most they have made in a first half this season.

Noel added 11 of his 14 points, five of them in a 13-2 flurry late in the second quarter to put Philadelphia in front.

Foye scored nine of his 11 in the half to lead the Nuggets.

The Sixers extended their lead to 76-65 on a 3-pointer by Covington with 3:53 left in the third quarter, then weathered four triples by Denver late in the quarter -- two of those by Gallinari -- to carry an 85-77 lead into the final period.

NOTES: Philadelphia G Tony Wroten made his season debut after missing the team's first 20 games while recovering from knee surgery. He had four points and five turnovers in 13 minutes off the bench. ... Sixers coach Brett Brown submits to a question-and-answer session with season-ticket holders before every home game, and said he does not sense growing impatience among those fans, despite the team's continuing struggles. He does, however, field his share of challenging questions. "It always goes to, how long is it going to happen? Tell me about (former Sixers G) Michael Carter-Williams. Is the plan going to work? Tell me about (C) Joel (Embiid)'s health. Is it hard keeping a locker room together? ... You know, relationship with Sam (Hinkie, the general manager) -- the whole thing. You answer it freely, because it's easy. It's true. ... I like it, because I feel like for me it's a real compass for what my version of our most loyal fans feel." ... The Nuggets were without G Gary Harris (concussion) for the fifth straight game, but F Kenneth Faried returned after missing the previous game with a sore knee.