Chandler's 36 points power Nuggets past Kings
DENVER -- Wilson Chandler scored a career-high 36 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, Danilo Gallinari had 18 points, and the Denver Nuggets beat the Sacramento Kings 108-96 on Monday night.
Mason Plumlee added 10 points and 12 rebounds, and Gary Harris scored 15 for Denver, which overcame the absence of center Nikola Jokic to end a five-game skid against Sacramento.
The Nuggets (29-34) now lead the Kings (25-38) by four games for the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference with 19 games left. Denver is two games up on the Portland Trail Blazers, who had their scheduled contest in Minnesota postponed due to condensation on the court.
Darren Collison led the Kings with 17 points, and Kosta Koufos amassed 14 points and 10 rebounds. Buddy Hield had 14 points off the bench.
It was the fifth straight loss for the Kings, but not as dramatic as their Sunday setback at home to Utah. Sacramento thought it had won that one in overtime when an official ruled Rudy Gobert's tip was a goaltend, but the basket was allowed after a review.
Jokic was sent home from the morning shootaround because of an illness. He came back to the arena a couple of hours before tipoff to receive treatment and fluids but wasn't well enough to suit up.
Chandler provided a chunk of the offense early in Jokic's absence. He scored 16 of Denver's 25 points in the first quarter and then added 10 in the third when the Nuggets built a 17-point lead.
The advantage grew to 21 early in the fourth quarter, and the only drama left was if Chandler would set a career high. After several misses, he drained a 3-pointer with 32 seconds left to reach 36 points.
NOTES: Denver F Kenneth Faried missed his fifth consecutive game due to lower back spasms, but he is improving. "The spasms have greatly reduced, but he's in no shape to play," coach Michael Malone said. ... Sacramento coach Dave Joerger was still feeling the sting of the last-second loss to Utah on Sunday. "I told the guys after the game, Utah has the better record but I felt like we deserved to win," Joerger said. "We had the better team (Sunday) night. People make mistakes, but those are three of the better officials in the league." ... The Nuggets recalled F Malik Beasley from Sioux Falls of the NBA Development League, but he didn't see action Monday.