Thompson and Sixers run past Nuggets

What has gotten into these 76ers?

Months ago, they were the laughing-stock of the NBA. No one is laughing anymore - especially not the Denver Nuggets.

Hollis Thompson had a career night as the Sixers held on Tuesday to defeat the Nuggets, 105-98, at the Wells Fargo Center.

The win came after the Sixers gave two of the league's elite teams - the Atlanta Hawks and the Cleveland Cavaliers - all they could handle before being held off.

The Sixers (11-39) have won three of their last five and have a 7-11 record since Jan. 5. That's impressive, considering that they opened the season with 17 consecutive losses.

Thompson had a lot to do with this victory. The 6-foot-8 reserve guard dominated early on en route to scoring a career-high 23 points. The second-year veteran made his first eight shots, including four three-pointers. He finished 8 for 12 to go with three rebounds, three assists and a block.

The California native scored 19 of his points before intermission on 6-for-6 shooting, including four three-pointers.

"I just think we came in and did a good job of executing," Thompson said. "We were moving the ball, and my teammates were finding me. So it paid off."

For a while, it appeared as if the undrafted player out of Georgetown would not miss. His first shot in the second half was a prime example. With the shot clock winding down, he buried a 15-foot step-back jumper.

This was a great performance for a guy who lost his starting position after missing 11 games from Dec. 21 to Jan. 10 with an upper respiratory infection.

"I think that he's looking around and seeing all of these young guys and wondering where he fits in," Sixers coach Brett Brown said of Thompson's dealing with a limited role after his illness. "To his credit, he continued to put in the work and came out with a huge first half."

Michael Carter-Williams added 15 points and 12 assists after exiting the loss at Cleveland with a bruised left shin.

Brown and Carter-Williams said before the game that they were monitoring how he felt. The point guard was supposed to inform his coach when he couldn't go any longer if the pain became unbearable. But Carter-Williams, who had treatment on his shin Tuesday morning, didn't have to tell Brown anything.

While he had a noticeable limp, the reigning rookie of the year moved a whole lot better than Monday night, when he had two points on 1-for-9 shooting. He left that game in the third quarter.

On Tuesday, Carter-Williams did a great job of facilitating early on. He had seven assists on his team's first nine baskets.

The Sixers opened the second quarter with a 13-3 run to take a commanding 46-31 cushion with 7:51 left in the half. They extended their lead to 28 points in the third quarter.

But shortly after that, the Sixers showed signs of being a team that was picked to finish last in the NBA.

They got careless with the ball, committing eight turnovers in the fourth quarter. They also made just 5 of 18 shots in that quarter.

The Nuggets (19-30) closed the gap to 103-98 with 12.9 ticks left. But the Sixers took the seven-point victory after Carter-Williams followed with a pair of foul shots.

"We were up big and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit disappointed," Brown said. "I get greedy and I want our players to get greedy. We want to close games out. . . .

"I want Michael Carter-Williams to close that game out better than he did and go get a triple-double because he was having a helluva game. As a group, we want more."

For the most part, the Nuggets looked like a squad trying to get coach Brian Shaw fired.

Other than a late run, they appeared disinterested in their third consecutive loss and 10th in 11 games.

Standout power forward Kenneth Faried was missing in action. The 6-foot-8, 222-pounder was held scoreless on 0-for-6 shooting.

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