Nuggets 95, Hornets 92
DENVER -- Forward Danilo Gallinari scored 27 points, guard Emmanuel Muiday had 11 in his return to the lineup and the Denver Nuggets beat the Charlotte Hornets 95-92 on Sunday night.
Guard Gary Harris added 12 points for the Nuggets, who snapped a four-game losing streak at home. Denver (14-24) is just 6-11 at Pepsi Center this season.
Guard Jeremy Lamb and center Cody Zeller had 15 points each for the Hornets (17-20, who have lost seven straight on the road and overall. They finished 0-4 on their Western Conference road trip.
The Hornets had a chance to end the losing streak but came up short at the end. With Charlotte down 10, guard Kemba Walker hit a driving layup and Zeller made two free throws to cut the lead to 95-89 with 1:47 left.
Denver missed two 3-pointers and forward Marvin Williams sank one from the top of the arc to make it 95-92 with 47 seconds left.
Gallinari missed a shot from long range with 19 seconds left and the Hornets called a timeout to set up a final play, but Walker and forward Nicolas Batum missed 3-pointers at the end.
Mudiay played 39 minutes and showed explosiveness. He had a fast-break layup midway through the third quarter and a dunk with 9:20 left in the fourth to put the Nuggets ahead 84-80.
Mudiay had missed 14 games with a deltoid sprain in his right ankle. It was similar to the injury that cost him most of the season with the Gaungdong Southern Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association last year. Mudiay had been close to returning for about a week, but the Nuggets were cautious with the young point guard.
Forward Mike Miller, getting some rare minutes, hit two 3-pointers to help extend Denver's lead to 90-82 midway through the fourth quarter.
The Hornets went on a 21-2 run in the second quarter to take a six-point lead. Charlotte reeled off 15 straight points during a 5:37 scoring drought by Denver and led 56-53 at halftime.
NOTES: Charlotte SG Nicolas Batum was back in the lineup after missing four games with a sprained right toe. ... Nuggets G Jameer Nelson was out with a left hip flexor injury suffered in Friday's loss at Memphis. Nelson had started 13 of the previous 14 games while PG Emmanuel Mudiay was out with a sprained right ankle. Mudiay played for the first time since Dec. 11. ... Hornets G Jeremy Lin played despite battling a tender right ankle. ... Nuggets PF Kenneth Faried missed his second straight game after the birth of his daughter, Kenzie Faried-Lewis. He did not make the trip to Memphis for Friday's game.