Gallinari's 27 lead Nuggets past Rockets 118-110

[January 31, 2013]  DENVER (AP) -- Danilo Gallinari scored a game-high 27 points, Kenneth Faried had 19 points and nine rebounds and the Denver Nuggets beat the Houston Rockets 118-110 Wednesday night.

Andre Iguodala had 15 points for the Nuggets, who have won five straight and beat Houston for the third time this season.

Jeremy Lin scored 22 points to lead the Rockets and James Harden and Chandler Parsons added 21 each. Houston had won three straight, including a 45-point win at Utah on Monday.

Two 3-pointers by Gallinari and some missed shots by the Rockets sparked a 24-3 Nuggets run that gave them a 101-88 lead with 6:54 left.

Marcus Morris' 3-pointer with a minute left in the third gave Houston an 85-77 lead but Denver closed out the period strong to trail just 86-83 heading into the final 12 minutes.

Two 3-pointers by Gallinari and some missed shots by the Rockets sparked a 24-3 Nuggets run that gave them a 101-88 lead with 6:54 left. The Rockets missed six straight shots and committed six turnovers, which helped Denver take the big lead.

Houston clawed back as a jumper by Lin and two 3-pointers by Carlos Delfino trimmed the lead to 101-95 with 4:55 left. Gallinari answered with a corner three to make it a nine-point margin.

The Rockets went on a 7-2 run to pull to 106-102 with 2:55 left, but consecutive buckets by Andre Miller and Ty Lawson made it an eight-point game and Denver closed it out.

The Rockets led by as eight in the third quarter. Toney Douglas helped build the lead with a steal and layup on two straight Denver possessions to help Houston build the lead.

The score was close throughout the first half with neither team leading by more than four. Harden led the way for the Rockets with 13 and Iguodala had 12 for the Nuggets.

Both teams got to the line in first two quarters, shooting a combined 38 free throws.

NOTES: Faried was named to the roster for the Rising Stars Challenge at All Star Weekend in Houston. Faried is averaging 11.8 points and 9.7 rebounds in 46 starts this season ... The Rockets averaged 20 turnovers in the first two games against Denver. Harden committed 13 of their 40 turnovers. ... The Nuggets reassigned G Julyan Stone to the Iowa Energy of the NBA Developmental League.

[Associated Press]

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