"Any game against a Western Conference team is a key game right now," Hornets coach Byron Scott said. "So many teams are so good right now. They're big because somewhere down the line the tiebreaker might come into effect. There's not a game against a Western Conference team that you don't look at and say this could be a key match-up down the line."

The Hornets (28-14) are in second place in the Southwest Division, one game behind the Spurs, whom they visit Saturday, and they're third in the Western Conference.

The victory Wednesday gave them a 2-1 edge in the season series with the Nuggets, who return to New Orleans on March 25.

HORNETS 94, NUGGETS 81: The Hornets used a 14-0 run in the fourth quarter to take control at home Wednesday night and win for 13th time in their last 15 home games. The Nuggets held their last lead, 70-68, before James Posey tied the score with a dunk with 10 minutes remaining. Peja Stojakovic then made two jumpers, Devin Brown and Antonio Daniels hit jumpers, Brown made two free throws and Chris Paul scored from the lane to give the Hornets a comfortable 82-70 edge with six minutes remaining.

The bench had an unusually productive night as all six reserves who played scored, led by Brown's season-high 18 points. The bench finished with a season-high 42 points as the Nuggets, who played just three reserves while the outcome was in doubt, got only 13 points from their bench.

The Hornets held the Nuggets to 16 fourth-quarter points, 37 second-half points, and their fourth-lowest game total of the season.

"Our defense was way better in the second half than it was in the first half," Stojakovic said. "We got defensive boards and the bench stepped up big (Wednesday night). It was an amazing team effort."