DENVER – Al Jefferson matched a season high with 35 points, including a key basket in the final seconds, and the Charlotte Bobcats hung on to beat the Denver Nuggets 101-98 on Wednesday night.
Jefferson, who has scored 20 points or more in 10 consecutive games, also had 11 rebounds for his 14th double-double in his last 22 games.
Gerald Henderson and Ramon Sessions each added 16 points for the Bobcats, who beat the Nuggets in Denver for only the second time in eight games here.
Randy Foye scored 33 points to lead Denver, which was without leading scorer Ty Lawson (left shoulder). His replacement, Nate Robinson, was knocked out of the game in the first quarter with a left knee sprain.
Robinson was hurt in a spill underneath the Nuggets’ basket. He got up gingerly and continued playing but was forced to leave the game a short time later. He did not return, and the Nuggets said Robinson was scheduled to undergo a magnetic resonance imaging scan Thursday to further evaluate the injury, which the team initially described as a sprain.
Evan Fournier added 19 points for the Nuggets, and Timofey Mozgov had 15.
Up by one at the break, the Bobcats pulled into a 75-all tie heading into the fourth period on a pair of free throws by Sessions, helping to offset a 3-pointer by Fournier moments earlier.
Jefferson’s 6-foot jumper evened the score again, at 82-all, but Fournier connected on a jumper and, after a turnover by the Bobcats, Foye drained a 3-pointer to give the Nuggets a five-point edge with 6 minutes, 38 seconds remaining.
Foye’s long jumper produced a final tie at 95-95 with 1:08 left. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist made one of two free throws, and after Wilson Chandler missed a contested reverse layup, Jefferson sank a jumper for a 98-95 lead with 23.1 seconds remaining.
Darrell Arthur made a 3-pointer with 10.7 seconds left to pull the Nuggets within 99-98, but after Henderson was fouled and made one of two free throws with 9 seconds remaining, the Bobcats’ defense turned away shots from up close by Fournier and Mozgov to help the Bobcats hang on.
Leading by as many as 14 points early on, the Bobcats settled for a 53-52 halftime lead as the Nuggets outscored Charlotte 31-21 in the second quarter.
Jefferson converted a three-point play to give Charlotte a 43-31 advantage with 5:47 remaining in the second, but Denver closed the period on a 21-10 run capped by Arthur’s 20-foot jumper an instant before the first-half buzzer.
Nuggets news
Bobcats’ Ben Gordon missed the game because of illness. ... The Nuggets and Bobcats will meet one more time this season March 10 in Charlotte. ... Kemba Walker missed his fifth game for the Bobcats since spraining his left ankle Jan. 18 against Miami. The Bobcats are 3-2 in that span.
