DENVER — Center Nikola Vucevic scored 18 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, and the surging Orlando Magic beat the Denver Nuggets 85-74 Tuesday night.
Forward Tobias Harris finished with 17 points and nine rebounds, and guard Elfrid Payton had 18 points for the Magic, who won for the sixth time in seven games. Orlando (12-9) improved to 3-1 on a five-game road trip that concludes in Phoenix on Wednesday night.
Guard Will Barton led the Nuggets with 23 points, and center JJ Hickson had 10 points and 11 rebounds. Denver (8-14) had its modest two-game winning streak snapped and lost for the fifth straight time at home.
The Magic led 72-67 after four straight points from guard Victor Oladipo, but Denver got within one on Barton’s third 3-pointer of the game.
Orlando guard Shabazz Napier hit a layup, and Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried split a pair of free throws to make it 74-72. Guard Evan Fournier drained Orlando’s only 3-pointer of the night after 15 straight misses to extend the Magic’s lead to 77-72.
A three-point play by Payton gave Orlando an 80-72 lead with 1:44 left. After a Denver basket, Vucevic scored off an offensive rebound to make it 82-74.
The Magic rallied from down seven at halftime to take a six-point lead in the third quarter. Vucevic had 10 points and five rebounds and Payton had eight points in the period, but the Nuggets’ late rally gave them a 63-62 lead heading into the fourth.
Denver’s bench became thinner when forward Darrell Arthur left the game with right knee soreness. Center Joffrey Lauvergne was dressed but did not play because of an illness.
The Nuggets held Orlando to 14 points in the second quarter to take a 47-40 lead at intermission. Barton had 13 first-half points off the bench, and forward Danilo Gallinari had 11 points for Denver. Gallinari finished with 13 points.
NOTES: Orlando F Aaron Gordon was out with a sprained right ankle suffered in Saturday’s loss at the Los Angeles Clippers. Gordon tested the ankle in warmups but wasn’t able to go. … Nuggets G Gary Harris missed his sixth straight game with a concussion. The team is hopeful he’ll be ready for Friday’s game against the Lakers. … Nuggets C Joffrey Lauvergne was given intravenous fluids before the game to combat an illness. He did not play. … Orlando G C.J. Watson missed his 13th straight game with a sore left calf.