The Charlotte Hornets (20 - 27) defeated the Denver Nuggets (19 - 29) 104 - 86 on Saturday at the Pepsi Center. Charlotte was coming off two days rest and was able to easily defeat a Denver club that had lost eight of its last nine games coming into Saturday. The Hornets held the Nuggets to just 15 first quarter points as they jumped out to a 30 - 15 lead. Charlotte's Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had a double - double with 17 points and 13 rebounds. The Hornets are 7 - 3 in their last ten games and have pulled to just a half game behind the Heat for the seventh seed in the East. Charlotte was missing Bismack Biyombo and Marvin Williams, but that did n't matter as it made quick work of Denver. The Hornets begin a home - and - home set with the Wizards on Monday. Denver's struggles continued Saturday as its playoff hopes continue to dwindle after sitting at 18 - 20 with a chance at the eighth seed earlier this month. Danilo Gallinari joined the starting lineup after Kenneth Faried and Darrell Arthur were both sidelined. Gallinari finished with 15 points and four rebounds in 23 minutes. Denver will return to action Tuesday in Philadelphia.
["TeamStat(G,'Nuggets') has 29 Losses ,has 86 Total points ,has 15 Points in 1st quarter ,has 15 Points in 2nd quarter ,has 19 Turnovers ."
 "TeamStat(G,'Hornets') has 27 Losses ,has 104 Total points ,has 30 Points in 1st quarter ,has 10 Points in 2nd quarter ,has 20 Turnovers ."]