Nuggets 108, 76ers 105
PHILADELPHIA -- Forward Danillo Gallinari scored 24 points, including the go-ahead dunk with 47.9 seconds left, as the Denver Nuggets rallied for a 108-105 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday afternoon.
Guard Will Barton added 16 points and nine rebounds for Denver (8-13), which reeled off 10 straight points late in the fourth quarter to win its second straight after an eight-game losing streak.
Forward Kenneth Faried had 12 points and nine rebounds. Another reserve guard, Jameer Nelson, a product of Philadelphia's Saint Joseph's University, scored 10 points, including the game-tying jumper with 1:26 left. He also assisted on Gallinari's dunk.
Forward Robert Covington scored 18 points to lead Philadelphia (1-20), which was without rookie center Jahlil Okafor, the team's leading scorer and rebounder. He was serving the second and last game of a disciplinary suspension.
Guard Isaiah Canaan scored 15 points for the Sixers, who led from late in the second quarter until the closing minutes.
The Sixers were up 102-98 after a free throw by Nerlens Noel with 2:41 remaining, but Barton made two foul shots and after a Philadelphia turnover, Nelson nailed a jumper from the left wing over Noel to tie it.
Philadelphia came up empty on its next trip as well, and Nelson drove the baseline and found Gallinari all alone under the basket for his go-ahead dunk.
Two free throws by Faried and two more by Randy Foye extended Denver's lead to 108-102 with 5.8 seconds left. Covington tossed in a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Canaan made all four of his 3-point attempts to generate 12 points in the first half, when the Sixers shot 60 percent, including 64.3 percent from 3-point range (9-of-14), to forge a 59-52 lead. Both percentages were season highs for a half, and the nine triples were the most they have made in a first half this season.
Noel added 11 points for Philadelphia, five of them in a 13-2 flurry late in the second quarter to put his team ahead.
Foye scored nine in the half to lead the Nuggets.
The Sixers extended their lead to 76-65 on a 3-pointer by Covington with 3:53 left in the third quarter, then weathered four triples by Denver late in the quarter -- two of those by Gallinari -- to carry an 85-77 lead into the final period.
NOTES: Philadelphia G Tony Wroten made his season debut after missing the team's first 20 games while recovering from knee surgery. He had four points and five turnovers in 13 minutes off the bench. ... Sixers coach Brett Brown submits to a question-and-answer session with season-ticket holders before every home game, and said he does not sense growing impatience among those fans, despite the team's continuing struggles. He does, however, field his share of challenging questions. "It always goes to, how long is it going to happen? Tell me about (former Sixers G) Michael Carter-Williams. Is the plan going to work? Tell me about (C) Joel (Embiid)'s health. Is it hard keeping a locker room together? ... You know, relationship with Sam (Hinkie, the general manager) -- the whole thing. You answer it freely, because it's easy. It's true. ... I like it, because I feel like for me it's a real compass for what my version of our most loyal fans feel." ... The Nuggets were without G Gary Harris (concussion) for the fifth straight game, but F Kenneth Faried returned after missing the previous game with a sore knee.