MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Will Barton scored 25 points, Emmanuel Mudiay had 17 and the Denver Nuggets beat the reeling Memphis Grizzlies 109-105 on Wednesday night.

Barton split a pair of free-throw attempts with 3.2 seconds left to help Denver hold on after Memphis pulled within three.

Memphis has lost four in a row. Its advantage over Portland for the fifth seed in the Western Conference is down to two games.

Zach Randolph led the Grizzlies with 26 points, while Jordan Farmar finished with 14. JaMychal Green had 13 points and 12 rebounds and Lance Stephenson added 12 points.

JaKarr Sampson, Darrell Arthur and Joffrey Lauvergne had 12 points each for the Nuggets, who had lost two in a row.

Denver never trailed, running its lead to as many as 20 in the second half. It was enough to hold off a fourth-quarter rally by Memphis when the Grizzlies outscored the Nuggets 37-25.

Barton and Arthur each had eight points in the fourth, and Arthur added a key block as the Grizzlies rallied in the final minute.

Memphis, as it has in several recent games, got off to a slow start, shooting less than 40 percent in most of the first half, committing turnovers and failing to play defense.

The Grizzlies’ woes contributed to the Nuggets building a 16-point lead on their way to a 59-47 advantage at intermission. Barton had 14 points at the break, and Denver shot 58 percent in the first half. Lauvergne had 10 for the Nuggets, missing only one of his six shots.

Memphis opened the third with an 8-2 run, but Mudiay helped Denver get back on track with a trio of 3-pointers and the Nuggets carried an 84-68 lead into the final period.

Nuggets: Lauvergne was drafted by the Grizzlies with the 55th pick in the 2013 draft, but his rights were traded to Denver.

The Nuggets made 13 3-pointers. Denver is 14-3 when connecting on at least 10 3s.

Denver will be back in action again Thursday at New Orleans. The Pelicans fell to the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night.