National Basketball Association

Nuggets 101, Hornets 93

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 8:30 p.m. ET

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- D.J. Augustin came off the bench to score 24 points, including 12 straight in the fourth quarter, and the Denver Nuggets pulled out an improbable 101-93 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night.

Augustin, a former Charlotte Bobcats player, was 8 of 11 from the field with three 3-pointers on a night when the Nuggets led by as many as 22 in the second half.

The biggest sequence came after the Hornets closed within 79-70.

Augustin hit a jumper to push the lead to 11. He then hit a free throw on Denver's next possession, missed the second, but the ball was tipped back to him and he connected on a 3-pointer to increase the lead to 85-70.

The Nuggets (29-41) snapped a three-game losing streak and won for the first time on a five-game road trip.

Gary Harris and Darrell Arthur scored 13 points apiece for the Nuggets, Will Barton had 12 and Emmanuel Mudiay and Nikola Jokic added 11 each.

The Hornets (39-30) had a two-game winning streak snapped. They had won nine of their previous 10 and 15 of their previous 18.

Nicolas Batum led the Hornets with 24 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. Charlotte also got 16 points from Jeremy Lin, 15 from Kemba Walker and 10 each from Cody Zeller and Al Jefferson.

Walker was just 6 of 18 from the field as the Hornets shot 42.2 percent from the floor.

The Nuggets led 28-22 after one quarter, 57-40 at halftime and 78-62 after three quarters.

NOTES: The Nuggets won the only previous game between the teams this season 95-92 in Denver on Jan. 10. ... The Hornets scheduled this game all along for a 6 p.m. EDT start and it worked out perfectly for local fans because Duke played in the NCAA Tournament at 2:40 p.m. and North Carolina had a 9:40 p.m. start. ... The Nuggets were without F Kenneth Faried (back), F Danilo Gallinari (ankle) and F Wilson Chandler (hip). ... C Spencer Hawes was back for the Hornets after missing the previous 15 games because of a strained back. ... Hornets coach Steve Clifford and Nuggets coach Michael Malone were assistants together with the Knicks from 2001 to 2003. ... The Hornets were playing their ninth home game of the month. They will host San Antonio on Monday night before playing seven of their next eight on the road. ... The Nuggets were playing the fourth game of a five-game trip. They will close out the trip on Monday at Cleveland.