CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- There's something about coming back to Charlotte that brings out the best in D.J. Augustin.

It happened again on Saturday night as Augustin led the Denver Nuggets to an improbable 101-93 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.

Augustin came off the bench to score 24 points, including 12 straight Denver points midway through the fourth quarter to thwart a Charlotte rally.

The eight-year veteran guard, who started his career with the Charlotte Bobcats, insisted that he doesn't get any added motivation against his former team.

But he has had similar games in Charlotte while with Toronto, Indiana and Oklahoma City.

"I don't care about any of that," Augustin said. "It's been a long time since I've been here. I've done this to other teams, too, so it's not just Charlotte.

"It doesn't matter where I'm at, as long as I get the opportunity. The NBA is all about opportunity, getting in the right situation and getting an opportunity to play, and you can play well."

Augustin was acquired from Oklahoma City at the trade deadline, and was playing in just his 16th game with the Nuggets. He finished 8-of-11 from the field, with three 3-pointers.

"What he gives us, I would sum it up in one word: poise," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. "In late games, whether it's the Dallas game where he scores 22 in the fourth or tonight when he scores 24 off the bench, he just makes big plays.

"Not afraid of the moment. Makes open shots. Makes the right play most of the time. He's been a great pickup. He's had a big impact in a lot of the wins we've had since we've gotten him."

The Nuggets (29-41) snapped a three-game losing streak and won for the first time on a five-game trip that will wind up in Cleveland on Monday.

Denver led by as many as 22 points in the second half, and definitely held their poise down the stretch when the Hornets tried to rally.

The key sequence came after the Hornets had pulled to within 79-70. Augustin hit a jumper for an 11-point lead, then hit the first of two free throws on the Nuggets' next possession. He missed the second, but then drilled a 3-pointer after the Nuggets got the offensive rebound for an 85-70 lead with 7:55 remaining.

The Hornets never got closer than six in the closing minutes.

Malone was thrilled with the performance.

"Our guys answered the call," Malone said. "We come out here and hold that team to 93 points, 42 (percent) from the field and 28 (percent) from the three," Malone said. "That’s a very good team over there, so it's a heck of a win for us.

"I just told the guys, 29 wins this year and we've beaten some good teams. We've shown if we play the right way, we're a pretty good team. We are not anywhere close to where we want to be, but we've done some good things and these are great moments."

The Nuggets also got 13 points each from Darrell Arthur and Gary Harris, 12 points from Will Barton, 11 each from Nikola Jokic and Emmanuel Mudiay, and 10 from Jusuf Nurkic.

They were 9-of-18 from 3-point range.

For the Hornets (39-30), this was a shocking loss after they had won nine of their previous 10 games and 15 of their previous 18.

They shot only 42.2 percent and leading scorer Kemba Walker struggled through a 6-for-18 performance.

Nicolas Batum led the Hornets with 24 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. Jeremy Lin scored 16, Walker had 15, added Cody Zeller had 10 points.

Coach Steve Clifford said he didn't see the intensity he expected after the Hornets had pulled out a huge win at Miami on Thursday.

"I didn't know we were going to win at Miami but I knew we were going to fight for the win," Clifford said. "But tonight we didn't have that. Approach is everything. We have a good team, actually a very good team when we're right. But we’re not beating anybody in this league if we're not right.

"There are only four or five teams in this league who are good enough to show up, not play their A game, and win. If we're not going to have everybody engaged and playing well, we don't beat anybody."

NOTES: The Hornets announced their 12th sellout crowd of the season, which set a Time Warner Cable Arena record for sellouts in a season. ... The victory gave the Nuggets a season's sweep over the Hornets. The Nuggets also won 95-92 in Denver on Jan. 10. ... The Hornets scheduled this game all along for a 6 p.m. start, and it worked out perfectly for local fans because Duke played in the NCAA Tournament at 2:40 p.m. and North Carolina had a 9:40 p.m. start. ... The Nuggets were without F Kenneth Faried (back), F Danilo Gallinari (ankle) and F Wilson Chandler (hip). ... C Spencer Hawes was back for the Hornets after missing the previous 15 games because of a strained back, but he did not play. ... The Hornets blocked 13 shots, including five by C Cody Zeller and three by C Al Jefferson. ... The Hornets were playing their ninth home game of the month. They will host San Antonio on Monday night before playing seven of their next eight on the road. ... The Nuggets were playing the fourth game of a five-game trip. They will close out the trip on Monday at Cleveland.