DENVER — The Denver Nuggets' starters were looking forward to resting in the fourth quarter. Instead, they needed Carmelo Anthony's last-minute shot.

Anthony scored 22 points, including a layup with 56.5 seconds left, and the Nuggets blew a 26-point third-quarter lead before recovering to beat the New Orleans Hornets, 105-100, last night.

J.R. Smith scored 11 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter for Denver.

"Those last 4, 5 minutes it took a lot of courage to win that game," Nuggets coach George Karl said

Chris Paul had 30 points and 11 assists, and David West had 21 points for the Hornets, who saw their four-game winning streak snapped.

It was the second straight game Anthony hit the deciding shot. Friday night, his 3-pointer with 0.1 seconds left beat Oklahoma City.

"Another day at the office," Anthony said. "We blew a lead tonight, but we won. I'll take that any day."

The Nuggets led 77-51 midway through the third quarter before New Orleans rallied. The Hornets outscored the Nuggets 20-6 to end the third, then scored the first nine points of the fourth to cut it to 83-80 with 9:31 left.

Smith hit two free throws to give Denver a 99-97 lead, but James Posey hit a 3-pointer with 1:10 remaining to give the Hornets a 100-99 lead, their only advantage of the game. Anthony followed with a driving layup and, after a loose-ball foul on Paul, Billups hit two foul shots to give the Nuggets a 103-100 lead with 38.7 seconds left.

HAWKS 103, ROCKETS 100

Mike Bibby made a 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds remaining, and Josh Smith scored a season-high 29 points for host Atlanta.

Joe Johnson had a season-high 14 assists, the last when he drove from the perimeter and into the left side of the lane before passing to Bibby for the winner.

Reserve Carl Landry scored 18 points, and Yao Ming had 16 points and 15 rebounds for Houston, which has dropped two straight and five of seven.

HEAT 101, NETS 96

Dwyane Wade scored 29 points, had three key blocks in the closing minutes and host Miami overcame a 16-point deficit to beat New Jersey in overtime.

Wade went up high for two blocks on 7-footer Brook Lopez, including one in overtime, and swatted a jumper by Vince Carter into the stands in the final minute of regulation. Wade's 3-point play with 37.2 seconds left in overtime stretched Miami's lead to 96-88.

Keyon Dooling had 23 points, and Carter had 20 for the Nets.

SPURS 108, 76ERS 106

Tony Parker hit a high-arching 15-footer at the buzzer and host San Antonio won after blowing an early 21-point lead.

Parker finished with 15 points and 10 assists to help the Spurs win for the seventh time in eight games. Tim Duncan led San Antonio with 26 points on 11-of-15 shooting.

Andre Miller led Philadelphia with 28 points on 12 of 14 shooting.

PACERS 122, KINGS 117

Danny Granger scored 13 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter in host Indiana's second straight victory.

T.J. Ford had 16 points and seven assists, and Troy Murphy added 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Pacers.

Kevin Martin led Sacramento with a season-high 45 points, making 13 of 24 shots and a career-high seven 3-pointers.

BOBCATS 102, BUCKS 92

Gerald Wallace scored 24 points, Boris Diaw added 21 and host Charlotte snapped a three-game losing streak.

The NBA's lowest-scoring team took advantage of Bucks center Andrew Bogut's absence because of back spasms to avenge a Friday night loss in Milwaukee.

Richard Jefferson scored 19 points for Milwaukee.

TIMBERWOLVES 102, BULLS 92

Randy Foye scored 21 points, and Al Jefferson added 18 points and 14 rebounds to help visiting Minnesota win consecutive games for the first time this season and improve to 4-2 in its last six games.

Derrick Rose had 22 points for Chicago, which has lost six of its last seven games.

NOTES

Trail Blazers: Brandon Roy, the All-Star guard who missed Portland's last two games because of a sprained right hamstring, will miss seven to 10 more days.

Roy didn't travel yesterday to Los Angeles for the Blazers' game today against the Lakers and likely will miss at least three more games.

Hornets: Center Tyson Chandler was suspended without pay for New Orleans' game at Denver yesterday for striking an opponent the previous night.

Chandler was ejected during the third quarter of the Hornets' 92-77 win at Portland on Friday for elbowing Trail Blazers center Joel Przybilla.

Przybilla was also fined $7,500 for his role in the incident, the NBA said. He struck Chandler in the chest with his forearm before Chandler retaliated.