Gary Harris' 27 points lead Nuggets past Hornets 121-104

DENVER — During a stretch where the Denver Nuggets played some of its best basketball of the season and racked up dramatic wins over the Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors, one burning question still remained.

How would Denver fare against an under .500 opponent without a  Most Valuable Player recipient when Pepsi Center wasn’t packed to capacity? Over the past two months, the Nuggets lost to the Joel Embiid-less 76ers, the Kings, Hawks and Suns.

Behind 27 points from Gary Harris, Denver bounced back from an ugly second quarter where the Hornets outscored the Nuggets 37-27 to win 121-104 and secure its third-straight victory.

Harris came out firing scoring 15 points in the first quarter, hit five of his six three-point attempts in the opening period and led Denver’s offense to 36 first-quarter points.

But the Nuggets went cold in the second as Charlotte outscored Denver by 10 in the period. At one point, the Hornets ran off a 21-12 run. The Nuggets were able to close and led by one point at the break. Denver then widened its margin to 14 after three quarters and eased to the 17-point win.

Jamal Murray, who’s playing through a painful right quad contusion which he suffered on Saturday against Golden State, played 31 minutes and finished with 18 points on 7-15 shooting. Nikola Jokic scored 15 points, handed out seven assists and registered 17 rebounds. Will Barton finished with 18 points on a healthy 7-10 shooting.

Denver hit 18 threes on the night.

For Charlotte, Kemba Walker scored a team-high 20 points. Dwight Howard finished with 19 and seven. Howard scored 15 points on 7-7 shooting in the first half.

Denver has a few days off before a back-to-back Friday and Saturday night in Houston and Phoenix.