Denver 119, L.A. Lakers 108

Nuggets 119, Lakers 108: Wilson Chandler scored 23 points and Ty Lawson had 22 points and eight assists as Denver defeated Los Angeles for its ninth straight home victory.

Corey Brewer tallied 16 points, Andre Iguodala had 14 points and 12 assists and Kenneth Faried had 12 points and 10 rebounds as the Nuggets improved to 24-3 at home.

Kobe Bryant scored 29 points, Steve Nash added 16 and Dwight Howard had 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Lakers, who failed to reach .500 and fell three games behind the Houston Rockets for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Los Angeles made a fourth-quarter run and crept within 106-99 on Bryant’s basket with 5:16 remaining. Iguodala and Andre Miller answered with back-to-back baskets as the Nuggets reasserted control and defeated the Lakers for the third time in four meetings this season.

Denver led 35-29 after the opening quarter and began the second with a 10-2 spurt to open up a 14-point lead. The Nuggets led 67-54 at halftime and pushed the lead to 91-73 on Iguodala’s dunk with 3:18 left in the third quarter.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Denver had a dominating 78-50 edge in points in the paint. … Nuggets F Danilo Gallinari sat out with a thigh bruise. … Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni said he doesn’t expect F Pau Gasol (foot) to return in the regular season.

• Denver will play their next game on the road against Portland. The Nuggets have a W/L % of .657 after a win and .565 after a loss.
• L.A. Lakers will play their next game at home against Minnesota. The Lakers have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .467 after a loss.