NUGGETS 101, ROCKETS 86: Arron Afflalo scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half and Ty Lawson also scored 20 as Denver temporarily took over seventh place from Houston in the West.

Denver is 33-27 while Houston dropped to 32-28. The teams will play in Houston on Monday night.

They are trying to stay ahead of Phoenix (31-29), which was idle Sunday.

Marcus Camby played just eight minutes in the first half, getting one rebound before departing with a sore back. He did not return and Denver took advantage, outscoring the Rockets 37-19 in the third quarter for an 80-68 lead.

Corey Brewer had 14 for the Nuggets. Kenneth Faried had 10 points and 11 rebounds. Andre Miller had 11 assists and seven rebounds.

Luis Scola had 19 points on 8-for-13 shooting for Houston, which saw its four-game road winning streak end. Chase Budinger came off the bench to score 19. Chandler Parson had 12 points and 10 rebounds. Goran Dragic scored 12.

The Rockets led 49-43 at half thanks to six 3-pointers. Denver was just 1 of 7 from 3-point range.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Nuggets had a 58-26 edge in points in the paint and also had 29 fastbreak points to 10 for Houston. … Denver center Kosta Koufos had nine points and six rebounds in 18 minutes. … The Nuggets also held a 27-17 edge in assists.