DENVER -- Guard Kobe Bryant scored 11 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Denver Nuggets 111-107 Tuesday night.

Bryant tied his season high and helped the Lakers (5-23) win for just the second time in 10 games.

Guard Jordan Clarkson scored 19 points and guard Lou Williams had 17 points and for Los Angeles.

Bryant, who will retire after the season, received a warm reception from the Pepsi Center crowd and tried to give the fans a show early. He converted a four-point play when he was fouled on a 3-pointer and hit the free throw, drawing loud cheers.

The cheering continued throughout the night whenever he hit one of his 10 field goals and nine free throws.

As the Lakers closed out the win from the line the fans chanted, "Kobe! Kobe! Kobe!"

Guard Will Barton scored 25 points, guard Gary Harris tied a career high with 21, and center Nikola Jokic had 15 points and 10 rebounds for Denver (11-17). The Nuggets have lost two straight at home to teams with a combined record of 11-42.

Los Angeles trailed by 13 at intermission but outscored the Nuggets 32-16 in the third to take an 83-80 lead. Bryant had seven points and four assists during the quarter to lead the comeback.

The game was close in the fourth, but Bryant hit a jumper with 6:13 left, and his three free throws with 3:48 to go extended the lead to 101-95.

Harris had a fastbreak dunk and a 3-pointer to get Denver within 103-100.

Bryant hit two free throws and a turnaround jumper with 32.2 seconds left to make it 107-100.

The Nuggets got a scare when Harris left with a right knee strain 3:40 into the game, but he returned and played 35 minutes. Barton came on and scored 18 points in the first quarter. He made his first four shots, hit two 3-pointers and converted a four-point play as Denver built a 21-point lead in the first half.

Barton, who finished with eight rebounds, couldn't duplicate his success in the second half.

NOTES: Nuggets F Danilo Gallinari (sprained left ankle) joined G Emmanuel Mudiay (sprained right ankle) on the sideline. Gallinari sustained the injury Sunday in the third quarter of a loss to New Orleans. Mudiay missed his fifth game Tuesday. ... Lakers coach Byron Scott said he planned to monitor G Kobe Bryant's minutes because of a sore right shoulder that kept Bryant out of the previous game. ... Nuggets F Darrell Arthur played despite leaving Sunday's game with right knee soreness. ... The Lakers spent a couple of off days in Denver after playing in Oklahoma City on Saturday night. Scott said he wanted his team to get used to the altitude instead of returning home.