The Sixers played two of the hottest teams in the NBA in their last two contests. Both times they played well, but not quite good enough to pick up a victory.
The Sixers took a break from facing the NBA's elite on Tuesday. They still turned in the same solid effort, and this time they were rewarded with a 105-98 win.
The Sixers improved their record to 11-39 with the win.
However, they didn't make it easy on themselves. The Sixers built a lead as large as 28 points before watching it dwindle all the way down to five in the final 30 seconds.
Turning point
The past couple of games, the Sixers have turned up their defensive intensity in the second half. Against Denver they did so in the second quarter, holding the Nuggets to 12 points on 5 of 26 shooting. The Sixers led by 21 at the half.
Follow the leader
Four of the Sixers' starters finished in double figures. Robert Covington had 17 points and eight rebounds.
Michael Carter-Williams had 15 points, eight rebounds and 12 assists. Nerlens Noel had 10 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. JaKarr Sampson also chipped in 11 points.
Danilo Gallinari had 22 points to lead the Nuggets. Wilson Chandler scored 19, and Jameer Nelson came off the bench to score 10 points and hand out four assists.
Randy Foye, who is working his way back from a quad injury, was scoreless in six minutes.
Stat-egic
The Sixers led 61-40 at the half. It was the second time this season they have had 61 points at the half and the 13th time they have reached that number by halftime on Brett Brown's watch.
The 21-point lead was their largest at intermission this season and it was the second time the Sixers' improved defense has held an opponent to 40 points or fewer.
Last Wednesday, they allowed the Pistons just 37 first-half points.
Take a bow
Hollis Thompson scored a career-high 23 points and he made a career-high eight field goals. He was 8 of 12 from the field.
NBA
Thompson made four of the Sixers' 11 three-pointers. It was the third straight game the Sixers made double-digit three-point shots. On the season, they average 7.2 made threes per game.
Health check
Carter-Williams started Tuesday's contest against the Nuggets after missing the final 19:31 of Monday's game in Cleveland with a sore right shin. He received treatment earlier in the day and was able to get the swelling to go down before suiting up against Denver.
What's next?
The Sixers travel to Boston for a Friday night game against the Celtics. The Celtics have beaten the Sixers twice this season at the Wells Fargo Center. The first time around, the Sixers lost by 11 points and shot 36.4 percent from the floor.
In a matchup on Dec. 15, Boston had 25 fastbreak points while the Sixers had one point in transition. Boston won the game, 105-87.
Boston earned its 17th win of the season on Tuesday night with a 108-97 win over the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.