Jamal Murray hits late jumper to lift Nuggets past Hornets

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Jamal Murray hit a running, off-balance 13-footer from the baseline with 5.1 seconds left and the Denver Nuggets overcame an eight-point fourth quarter deficit to beat the Charlotte Hornets 114-112 on Thursday night.

Murray had 18 points, and Nikola Jokic added 14 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. The Nuggets entered the game in third place in the Western Conference, a game behind the Los Angeles Clippers.

Devonte Graham had 24 points and seven assists for the Hornets. P.J, Washington added 20 points and Terry Rozier had 19. The Hornets had a chance to win, but Rozier’s 3-pointer at the buzzer rimmed out.

Jokic became frustrated at times with the officiating, picking up his third foul late in the first half, his fourth just five minutes into the third quarter and fifth with 2:38 left in the game.

He argued with officials after a non-call under the Hornets’ basket, then wouldn’t allow Charlotte to inbound the ball, attempting to intercept the ball when an official flipped it to Graham because he wasn’t done discussing the call.

A short while later, Jokic was whistled for his fourth foul after pushing off against Cody Zeller and headed to the bench shaking his head.

The Hornets rallied to take a 94-86 lead with eight minutes left in regulation with Jokic watching from the bench. But the Nuggets battled back to tie it with five minutes left. On the tying basket, Will Barton threw an inbounds pass to himself off the back of Charlotte’s Cody Martin and dunked it.

The Hornets limited Jokic to six points, five rebounds and four assists in the first half, but the All-Star center was tough down the stretch, posting up and scoring and creating players for teammates with his passes. He scored eight points in the fourth quarter.

TIP INS

Nuggets: Barton scored 16 points and Monte Morris added 15. … Made only 8 of 26 3-point attempts.

Hornets: A female fan who was sitting courtside took a forearm to the head from the 7-foot Zeller, who was hustling the save a ball from going out of bounds. The game was stopped briefly while she was attended to by medical personal. She left the game shortly after the collision and did not return to her seat.

UP NEXT

Nuggets: Att Cleveland on Saturday night.

Hornets: Wrap up a four-game homestand against Houston on Saturday night.