Los Angeles  - Chris Paul started slowly but finished with a flurry.

Paul scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half, and James Posey knocked down the go-ahead three-pointer with 19.1 seconds left as the visiting New Orleans Hornets nipped the Denver Nuggets 105-101 on Thursday night for their fourth straight win.

"I'm one of those guys who try to let the game come to me," said Paul, who also dished out 10 assists.

"Right before the third quarter, coach said to me, you need to get it going a little bit, so I tried to. I just got a little more aggressive and we got out in transition.

"J. R. Smith shot the ball amazing tonight," he added. "This is a great win for our team."

Rasual Butler scored a season-high 19 points, Peja Stojakovic had 17, David West finished with 15 for short-handed New Orleans (9-5) playing without starters Mo Peterson (sore right knee) and Tyson Chandler (birth of his child).

One night after being benched for showing up late at practice, Smith erupted for 32 points with five 3-pointers in just 33 minutes off the bench to pace Denver (10-6), which dropped into a three-way tie for the Northwest Division lead. Carmelo Anthony had 24 points and Chauncey Billups contributed just 12.

"It was a tough game, we had them," Billups said. "It was back and forth most of the fourth quarter and they got some crucial, plays to go in their favour. Chris Paul hitting like, a 30-foot 3-pointer to beat the shot clock buzzer, then Peja hitting another big three.

"Plays like that took a lot of air out of us, especially when you are playing so hard on the play and they hit a shot like that it makes it tough."

Paul scored seven straight points, including that long 3-pointer to knot the game at 92 with 2:07 left. The Hornets took a short-lived 98-92 lead as Stojakovic hit a triple of his own and converted a free throw following a technical foul on Kenyon Martin before West made a put-back of Paul's miss.

However, Anthony answered with six consecutive points, including a dunk to level the game at 98 with 37 seconds left. On the ensuing play, Paul drove towards the lane and kicked it out to Posey, who promptly buried the 3-pointer from the right wing to put the Hornets ahead, 101-98.

"I have confidence in making shots," Posey, who finished with 10 points. "I've been in those situations before."

After Billups missed the potential game-tying 3-pointer at the other end, Stojakovic hit two free throws, opening up a five-point cushion. Following a time-out, Smith nailed his final triple of the night, making it 103-101 with four ticks to go. Forced to foul, the Nuggets put Paul at the line and he calmly sank two free throws to seal the victory.

"It was a game of runs all night long," Hornets coach Byron Scott said. "It just kind of depends on who had the ball last. It was one of those games that went back and forth. Luckily we were on top at the end."

In the only other game played on Thanksgiving night:

Orlando Magic 105, Washington Wizards 90 Dwight Howard had 26 points with 14 rebounds, and Turkey's Hedo Turkoglu had 20 points and a season-high 10 rebounds as the Magic rolled to its sixth straight road victory.

Rashard Lewis and Frenchman Mickael Pietrus added 17 points apiece, while Anthony Johnson, filling in for starting point guard Jameer Nelson (strained right hip flexor) handed out a season-high 12 assists for Southeast Division leader Orlando (12-4) which has won eight of its last nine games overall.

Caron Butler scored 25 points, and Antawn Jamison had 17 points and 12 rebounds for Washington (2-13) which beat Golden State on Tuesday night, to make Ed Tapscott a winner in NBA coaching debut. (dpa)