The Charlotte Hornets defeated the Denver Nuggets, 112 - 102, at Pepsi Center on Saturday evening. The Hornets (27 - 35) were in particular need of a win coming in to Saturday, as they'd dropped seven of their previous nine games. To make matters worse, Frank Kaminsky III, who'd done an outstanding job in Cody Zeller's stead while the latter had been out recently for an extended period with a quad injury, had succumbed to an AC joint sprain suffered in a 120 - 103 loss to the Suns on Thursday. However, Kemba Walker, who's carried the Charlotte offense many a time, and Nicolas Batum, who'd shot just 18 percent (5 - for - 28) over the prior two games, combined for 48 of Charlotte's 112 points on the night. They also managed a 9 - for - 15 tally from three - point range, leading to a superb 59 percent success rate from behind the arc for the Hornets overall. The Nuggets (28 - 34) had a much rougher go of it, shooting 45 percent from the field and 30 percent from long range. Walker's 27 points led the Hornets, a total he supplemented with four rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block. Batum went for 21 points, dished out eight assists and posted two rebounds. Johnny O'Bryant III paced the bench with 15 points, six boards and one assist. Marvin Williams posted a 14 - point, 12 - rebound double - double that also included three assists and two blocks. Cody Zeller produced a near double - double of 11 points, eight rebounds, two assists and one steal. Jeremy Lamb was productive in a reserve role as well with 12 points, four rebounds and one steal. Nikola Jokic paced the Nuggets with 31 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and one steal. Danilo Gallinari tallied 22 points, five rebounds and one steal. Jamal Murray led the bench with 14 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals. No other Denver player hit double digits in the scoring column, however, with Will Barton coming the closest with nine points, four rebounds, four assists and one block. Gary Harris notably went scoreless over 22 minutes, putting up just one shot attempt and only adding one assist and one steal. The Hornets head back home after their five - game Western Conference swing to tangle with the Indiana Pacers on Monday night, while the Nuggets remain home to take on the Sacramento Kings on Monday evening as well.
["TeamStat(G,'Nuggets') has 30 Percentage of 3 points ,has 45 Percentage of field goals ,has 34 Losses ,has 102 Total points ,has 28 Turnovers ."
 "TeamStat(G,'Hornets') has 59 Percentage of 3 points ,has 35 Percentage of field goals ,has 112 Losses ,has 5 Total points ,has 27 Turnovers ."]