Nuggets 112, Lakers 105
Ty Lawson had 21 points and 10 assists without committing a single turnover and Danilo Gallinari added 20 points as visiting Denver defeated Los Angeles for its ninth win in 13 games.
JaVale McGee scored 17 points, Andre Iguodala tallied 15 and Corey Brewer added 14 as the Nuggets won for only the fifth time in 26 games against the Lakers at Staples Center.
Kobe Bryant scored 18 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter for Los Angeles, which dropped three games below .500. Dwight Howard tied a career-high with 26 rebounds to go with 14 points, Metta World Peace scored 16 and Steve Nash added 10 and 13 assists.
The Nuggets led by six entering the final quarter and boosted the lead to 99-89 on a 3-pointer by Lawson with 6:11 remaining. Los Angeles was within 105-102 after Bryant’s 3-pointer with 36.2 seconds left before Gallinari hit from beyond the arc to give Denver a six-point edge with 13.8 seconds remaining.
Denver led 34-26 after one quarter and again led by eight with three minutes to go in the half. Los Angeles closed with a 11-3 surge to tie the game at 60-60 at the break.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Howard has three 20-rebound outings this season and two have come against Denver. … Andre Miller had a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists off the bench for the Nuggets. … Bryant scored 27 or more points for the 17th consecutive game. He was just 4-of-14 shooting over the first three quarter before going 7-of-12 in the final stanza.