Nuggets 116, Wizards 100
DENVER - Jusuf Nurkic tied a career-high with 17 points to spark a second-half comeback, and the Denver Nuggets rallied to beat the Washington Wizards 116-100 on Saturday night.
Darrell Arthur, D.J. Augustin and Gary Harris also scored 17. Will Barton had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets, who extended their winning streak to a season-best four games.
Denver (28-38) outscored Washington 41-17 in the fourth to finish its homestand with a 5-2 mark.
Otto Porter Jr. scored 23 points and John Wall had 19 points and 11 assists for Washington. The Wizards have lost five in a row after a four-game winning streak. They are now 3 1/2 games behind Detroit for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Wizards (30-35) played their third game without Bradley Beal, who was out a sprained pelvis.
Despite playing on consecutive nights the Wizards took a 72-62 lead late in the third quarter. Porter and Wall each had a three-point play in a 10-0 run.
The lead was 11 when Nurkic, in his most extensive action in weeks, asserted himself in place of Joffrey Lauvergne. He scored nine of Denver's next 11 points to keep them in the game.
Lauvergne left the game getting hit in the face when Porter drove to the basket late in the third. He received stitches and didn't return.
Wall hit a pull-up jumper at the end of the third to make it 83-75 going into the fourth.
Barton and Arthur hit 3-pointers to get Denver within four and two dunks by Nurkic tied it at 89 with 7:38 left.
Barton then hit a layup to put the Nuggets back in front, forcing Washington to call timeout.
The Nuggets kept rolling, with Axel Toupane's 3-pointer capping a 17-2 run that made it 100-91.
The run was 28-6 after Nurkic's layup gave Denver a 110-95 lead with 2:31 left.
Nurkic scored all of his points in the second half.
NOTES: Washington SG Bradley Beal (pelvis) was held out again Saturday. Beal joined the team in Utah for Friday's loss but didn't play. He has now missed three games. ... Saturday was the final day of Nuggets F Axel Toupane's 10-day contract. Coach Michael Malone said he would meet with general manager Tim Connelly after the game to discuss Toupane. "He's been everything, if not more, that we could have asked for," Malone said. "Whether or not that translates into a second 10-day, we'll see." ... Wizards F/G Alan Anderson didn't play because of a left ankle injury. Anderson missed the first 55 games after having surgery on it in the offseason. ... Washington C J.J. Hickson, who was waived by Denver on Feb. 19 after two-plus years with the team, signed with the Wizards on Feb. 25.