Okafor-less Sixers Fall To Nuggets Late, 108-105
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Danilo Gallinari scored 24 points, including the go-ahead slam dunk with under a minute remaining, to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 108-105 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday.
Will Barton added 16 points for the Nuggets, who ended a five-game road trip by winning their second straight after snapping an eight-game skid on Thursday.
Robert Covington scored 18 points and Isaiah Canaan had 15 for Philadelphia, which dropped to 1-20.
Philadelphia rookie Jahil Okafor sat out the second of a two-game suspension imposed by the team on Wednesday after the release of a second video from a nightclub fight in Boston on Nov. 25.
The Nuggets trailed for the entire second half before Jameer Nelson tied the game at 102 with 1:26 remaining with a 19-foot stepback jumper. After Canaan missed a drive on the 76ers' ensuing possession, Nelson went baseline and set up Gallinari for an easy dunk to make it 104-102 with 47.9 seconds remaining.
Covington followed with a turnover for Philadelphia and Kenneth Faried grabbed a key offensive rebound and then made 1 of 2 free throws with 19.9 ticks left to put Denver up by three. Covington had a chance to tie it, but his 3-point attempt with 15 seconds left was long.
Philadelphia opened the fourth quarter with an eight-point lead. The 76ers have led in the fourth quarter often this season, only to see teams overtake them down the stretch.
The 76ers struggled mightily in their first game without Okafor, shooting 37.2 percent from the field in a 99-87 loss at the Knicks on Wednesday that came a day after their only win of the season.
But Philadelphia found the range in the opening half on Saturday, shooting 60 percent from the field and 64.3 percent from 3-point range on the way to a 59-52 halftime lead.
Canaan had a team-best 12 points, making all four shots from 3-point range in the first half.
Tony Wroten returned for the first time since suffering a right ACL tear on Jan. 13. Wroten, who averaged 16.9 points and 5.2 assists in 30 games last season, scored four points 13 minutes.
TIP-INS
Nuggets: Faried returned to the lineup after sitting out Thursday because of a left ankle sprain. Faried finished with 12 points and nine rebounds. . The Nuggets have a Philadelphia touch with Nelson (St. Joe's), Randy Foye (Villanova) and assistant coach Ed Pinckney (Villanova). . G Gary Harris (concussion) missed his fifth straight game.
76ers: Mascots from Atlanta, New Orleans, Charlotte and Cleveland, as well as the Harlem Globetrotters, helped celebrate 76ers mascot Franklin's birthday on Kids' Day. . 76ers great Allen Iverson was in attendance.
UP NEXT
Nuggets: Host Orlando on Tuesday night.
76ers: Host San Antonio on Monday night.
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