DENVER — Jerryd Bayless let another 3-pointer fly, then let out a celebratory scream as he jogged to the Nuggets' logo at midcourt as Michael Malone called timeout.

A Saturday night that began with Denver's backcourt filling up the stat sheet unexpectedly shifted to Bayless, with Philadelphia's reserve guard scoring all 14 of his points in the second half to lift the 76ers to a 107-102 victory at Pepsi Center.

The Nuggets missed a big opportunity to complete their second consecutive winning month, a feat they did not accomplish last season until March. Philadelphia was playing without Joel Embiid and entered Saturday 1-6 without their oft-injured star.

But Bayless, who finished 6-of-10 from the floor, helped flip the game after it looked like the Nuggets had taken control with an 11-0 run to start the third quarter. Philadelphia answered with a 25-4 spurt, including six consecutive points by Bayless highlighted by an alley-oop finish. He then scored the first eight points of the final frame, sending the 76ers to a double-digit lead and Denver into catch-up mode.

The Nuggets cut Philadelphia's lead to 103-100 on two Nikola Jokic free throws with less than a minute to play, but Will Barton missed a 3-pointer on Denver's next possession and Robert Covington (15 points, 10 rebounds) followed with two free throws to make it a two-possession game with less than 20 seconds remaining. Then after two Jamal Murray free throws, Covington finished the game off with a breakaway dunk.


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Dario Saric led the 76ers with 20 points to go along with nine rebounds and six assists, while JJ Redick added 18 points on 8-of-15 shooting. Ben Simmons, perhaps the leading contender for this season's rookie of the year award, finished with six points, six rebounds and six assists.

The Nuggets' guards spearheaded their offensive attack in the first half. Jamal Murray scored 18 of his 31 points before the break but missed seven of his final nine attempts after starting 8-of-12. An assertive Gary Harris dunk sent the Nuggets' bench into a frenzy as the highlight of their run early in the third quarter, but scored zero of his 17 points in the final quarter. Will Barton totaled 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists, but did not score in the second half and finished 5-of-15 from the floor.