NUGGETS 102, LAKERS 99: Point guard Andre Miller came off the bench to score 24 points and fellow reserve JaVale McGee added 21 points and 14 rebounds as visiting Denver staved off elimination.

Arron Afflalo scored 19 points and the Nuggets withstood a furious rally by Los Angeles to send the series back to Denver for Game 6 on Thursday night.

Kobe Bryant scored 43 points to lead the Lakers, who stormed back from a 15-point deficit with 6 1/2 minutes left to pull within a point with 14 seconds to play.

Miller hit a pair of free throws with 12.8 seconds remaining for a 102-99 lead before Bryant and Ramon Sessions each missed tying 3-point attempts.

Miller and McGee fueled a 16-4 spurt that turned a 66-63 third-quarter lead into an 82-67 advantage with nine minutes to play as Denver won its first road playoff game since beating Los Angeles in the 2009 Western Conference finals.

Bryant buried three consecutive 3-pointers to cap a 21-8 burst and cut the deficit to 98-96 and Sessions nailed another 3-pointer to make it 100-99.

Andrew Bynum had 16 points and 11 rebounds for Los Angeles while Danilo Gallinari scored 14 for the Nuggets.

Gallinari had six points in a 10-0 third-quarter run as Denver took surged ahead 59-47. Bryant scored seven straight points to cut the deficit to 66-63 but the Nuggets answered with a 7-0 run en route to taking a 76-65 lead entering the final quarter.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Lakers F Pau Gasol was forced to the bench late in the third quarter after cutting his lip on a blocked shot. ... Denver's Corey Brewer went to the locker room with a cut under his eye in the fourth. ... Nuggets F Al Harrington again discarded the mask to protect his fractured nose and later put it back on. He was 0 of 6 and missed all three 3-point attempts through three quarters.