Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 14 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter as the visiting Charlotte Hornets came from behind to beat the Denver Nuggets 115-107 on Thursday night.
Terry Rozier scored 17 and Miles Bridges and LaMelo Ball each had 16 points for the Hornets, who rallied from a 19-point, third-quarter deficit to break a three-game losing streak. P.J. Washington scored 13 and Jalen McDaniels had 12.
Nikola Jokic had 29 points and a season-high 21 rebounds, Facundo Campazzo scored 12 and Jeff Green, Vlatko Cancar, Will Barton and Austin Rivers had 11 each for Denver, which was outscored 38-13 in the fourth quarter.
The Nuggets looked to be in control after three quarters, up by 17 points, but Charlotte dominated the fourth.
Oubre hit a 3-pointer, added a four-point play and then completed a three-point play to get Charlotte within 96-87. After Jokic hit a floating jumper with 7:47 to go in the period, the Hornets went on a 10-1 run to tie it at 99.
Campazzo sank two free throws, but a bucket by Oubre and a 3-pointer from Washington gave Charlotte a 104-101 lead with 3:16 left.
The Nuggets tied it at 105 on Green's tip-in, but Washington hit another 3-pointer to put the Hornets ahead 108-105 with 1:20 left.
Ish Smith sealed it with a corner 3-pointer with 39.1 seconds left.
Charlotte started the night strong and led 20-9 before Denver closed within 27-26 at the end of the first quarter.
The Nuggets turned things around in the second. Trailing 43-40 midway through, they stormed ahead on three straight baskets by Green. Jokic scored the next six Denver points, and Campazzo and Monte Morris had 3-pointers in a 19-2 run.
Campazzo hit another 3-pointer, and Denver led 65-52 at intermission.
Charlotte tried to climb back in the third quarter. Rozier hit a 3-pointer and Ball made a layup and a 12-footer to cut the deficit to 71-61. The Nuggets responded with a layup from Jokic and five straight points by Barton to make it 78-61.
Denver increased the lead to 94-77 heading into the fourth.
--Field Level Media
Charlotte | Denver | |
Kelly Oubre Jr. 23 | Scoring | Nikola Jokic 29 |
P.J. Washington 5 | Assists | Facundo Campazzo 5 |
P.J. Washington 9 | Rebounds | Nikola Jokic 21 |
LaMelo Ball 5 | Free Throws Made | JaMychal Green 4 |
LaMelo Ball 4 | Steals | Facundo Campazzo 3 |
Ish Smith 2 | Blocks | Facundo Campazzo 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Charlotte | 115 | 41.5 | 16-47 | 21-24 | 28 | 50 | 8 | 10 | 11 |
Denver | 107 | 41.7 | 14-40 | 13-17 | 23 | 54 | 2 | 7 | 15 |