Hornets wrap up trip with 112-102 win over Nuggets
DENVER -- Kemba Walker scored 27 points, Marvin Williams had 14 points and 12 rebounds, and the Charlotte Hornets ended their seven-game road trip with a 112-102 win over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night.
Nicolas Batum had 21 points and eight assists for Charlotte (27-35), which won for fourth time in the last 18 games.
Nikola Jokic led Denver with 31 points and 14 rebounds and Danilo Gallinari scored 22 for the Nuggets.
Charlotte looked like the fresher team throughout the game, especially at the start of the second half. After building a nine-point lead at the break, the Hornets scored the first 10 points of the third quarter and opened a 20-point lead on Walker's 3-pointer.
Denver (28-34) got within eight on Darrell Arthur's dunk with a minute left in the third quarter, but Jeremy Lamb's 30-foot 3-pointer made it 90-79 heading into the fourth.
The lead was still 11 when Will Barton hit a 3-pointer and a layup around Jamal Murray's steal and layup that made it 100-96, but Walker hit his fifth 3-pointer to make it a seven-point advantage.
Williams then hit a layup and Walker sank two free throws to make it 107-96.
The Hornets used a 17-0 run in the first quarter to take a 12-point lead. Charlotte hit 5 of 6 shots in the rally while Denver missed six straight field goals.
NOTES: Charlotte F Johnny O'Bryant, who played under two 10-day contracts with Denver last month, had 15 points and six rebounds. He was one of six Hornets in double figures. ... Nuggets F Kenneth Faried missed his fourth straight game with lower back soreness and could miss a few more days, coach Michael Malone said. "The back is a tricky thing, but hopefully with the treatment he is getting at some point it will turn and get better," Malone said. "As of right now, he's in rough shape." ... Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said C Frank Kaminsky will miss at least 10 days with his left shoulder sprain. "Right now, it's day-to-day, depending how he progresses these next two days," he said. "Typically, that injury would be 10 days to two weeks."