Nuggets come up empty in must-win against Hornets

A 14-0 Hornets run that spilled over from the end of the third to the beginning of the fourth quarter, which paved the way for Charlotte to outscore Denver 36-20 over the final 12 minutes, powered the Hornets passed a sputtering Nuggets squad 122-114, that’s now lost four out of their last six.

After Denver outscored Charlotte 38-30 in the third, it looked like the Nuggets were doing their best to pull away from the Hornets for an impressive road win, but Kemba Walker, Frank Kaminsky, and Co. shot 54.5 percent from the field in the fourth and 7-12 (58.3 percent) from three, got hot down the stretch and used their fourth-quarter run to open up a margin Denver couldn’t close.

The Nuggets did get to within four on a Nikola Jokic three, who finished with 26 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists, recording his sixth triple-double of the season, to cut the Hornets’ lead to four, at 118-114, but it wasn’t enough. Denver’s bench unit, which surrendered the Nuggets’ third-quarter lead, struggled all night and were outscored by Charlotte’s bench 50-19.

Elsewhere for Denver, Gary Harris scored 20 points on 8-14 shooting in a game-high 41 minutes. Kenneth Faried added 18 points and 13 rebounds in his return to the starting lineup, and Danilo Gallinari added 19 points of his own.

As a team, Denver shot a healthy 50 percent from the field but were plagued by 13 turnovers. The Nuggets shot just 33 percent from the field and finished the third quarter with only 20 points, compared to the Hornets’ 36 points on 54.5 percent shooting in the period.

For the Hornets, Walker led the way with 31 points and 8 assists. Kaminsky added 22 points off the bench on 7-13 shooting from the field. As a team, Charlotte shot 17-36 (47.2 percent) from three in the win.

Denver drops to a full two games back of Portland for the eighth seed in the West. Factoring in tiebreakers, all of which the Trail Blazers have secured, the Nuggets are essentially three games back with just seven to play.

Footnotes

Portland starting center Jusuf Nurkic was diagnosed with a non-displaced fibula fracture in his right leg, the team announced Friday. He’s sidelined for two weeks and then will be reevaluated.

Starting point guard Jameer Nelson went to the locker room during the third quarter and was diagnosed with a right calf strain. He did not return to the game.

Will Barton (left foot soreness) was ruled out prior to tonight’s matchup. Darrell Arthur (left knee soreness) was also sidelined.

What’s Next

Denver continues their road trip in Miami, then New Orleans and Houston, before returning home for a rematch against the Pelicans at Pepsi Center on April 7.