Nuggets 114, Bulls 109: Ty Lawson collected 20 and 12 assists as Denver knocked off visiting Chicago to push its winning streak to five.

Arron Afflalo scored 19 points and Danilo Gallinari added 15 off the bench for the Nuggets, who reached .500 at 7-7. Wilson Chandler scored 14 points while Kenneth Faried chipped in 12 points and nine rebounds for the Nuggets.

Jimmy Butler went 18-of-20 from the free throw line en route to 32 points and Pau Gasol collected 22 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Bulls, who once again lost Derrick Rose to injury. The former MVP, who returned Monday from a left hamstring injury, lasted only 10 minutes before leaving with tightness in the same area.

Denver led 105-91 with less than four minutes left before Gasol scored seven straight points to kick off a 12-2 run. Butler’s three-point play cut it to 109-106 with 31 seconds left before Lawson buried a jumper and combined with Gallinari to hit three free throws over the last seven seconds to help close it out.

The Nuggets led by as much as 12 points in the first quarter and held a 53-41 edge with 3:31 left in the half before a quick spurt cut it to 56-49 at the break. Mike Dunleavy’s jumper brought the Bulls within 64-61 five minutes into the third but Denver never gave up the lead and took an 86-76 edge into the fourth.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Bulls were also playing without C Joakim Noah (left eye/left knee) and F Taj Gibson (ankle). … Nuggets G Randy Foye was diagnosed with a tear in his right quad and will miss the next three weeks. … Dunleavy scored 17 points and Aaron Brooks scored 16 off the bench for Chicago.