Denver forward Carmelo Anthony, right, shoots past New Orleans forward David West in the second quarter of Saturday’s game in Denver.

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 on Saturday 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 had their four-game winning streak snapped.

It was the second straight game Anthony hit the deciding shot. Friday night, his three-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.

“The team was fed up with the way it played in the first half,” Hornets coach Byron Scott said. “We get to the point where we’re not playing real well, things aren’t going our way and we just buckle down.”

Smith gave the Nuggets breathing room with a fast-break layup and a three-pointer that made it 88-80 with 8:08 left, but Peja Stojakovic’s fourth three-pointer of the night tied it at 94 with 4:11 left. Chauncey Billups’ two free throws gave the Nuggets a 96-94 lead, but Paul’s 13-foot jumper with 2:42 left tied it at 97.

“Chris Paul did a great job coming down the stretch, but thankfully he didn’t get it done tonight,” Smith said.

Smith hit two free throws to give Denver a two-point lead, but James Posey hit a three-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.

“I didn’t want to shoot a jump shot,” Anthony said of his finger roll. “I wanted to take it to the hole and either get fouled or make something happen.”

Billups hit two more free throws with 22 seconds left to seal the win.

Also on Saturday:

Heat 101

Nets 96

MIAMI — Dwyane Wade scored 29 points, had three key blocks in the closing minutes and Miami overcame a 16-point deficit to beat New Jersey in overtime. Keyon Dooling had 23 points, and Carter had 20 for the Nets.

Hawks 103

Rockets 100

ATLANTA — Mike Bibby made a three-pointer with 1.5 seconds remaining, and Josh Smith scored a season-high 29 points for 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.

Pacers 122

Kings 117

INDIANAPOLIS— Danny Granger scored 13 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter in Indiana’s second straight victory. Kevin Martin led Sacramento with a season-high 45 points, making 13 of 24 shots and a career-high seven three-pointers.

Bobcats 102

Bucks 92

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Gerald Wallace scored 24 points, Boris Diaw added 21 and 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.

Timberwolves 102

Bulls 92

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

Spurs 108

76ers 106

SAN ANTONIO — Tony Parker hit a high-arching 15-footer at the buzzer and 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.