Chicago ? Tiny Earl Boykins was huge for the Denver Nuggets.

The 5-foot-5 guard drilled a three-pointer with 38 seconds left Monday night to lead the Nuggets to a 105-97 victory over the Chicago Bulls.

“We were up four, and I missed a layup, and they went on a 5-0 run,” Boykins said. “So the three was nothing but a makeup shot.”

It sure was a pretty one, though. Standing just beyond the three-point line at the top of the key, Boykins calmly drilled the 25-footer, and then raised his right arm. Bulls rookie Kirk Hinrich missed a three at the other end, and Chicago was forced to foul.

Boykins finished with 14 points and a season-high nine assists for the Nuggets, who got their second road win of the season despite shooting only 38 percent. Rookie Carmelo Anthony had yet another big night, scoring a team-high 26 points, and adding eight rebounds and three assists.

“It is nice to win here,” Denver coach Jeff Bzdelik said. “This is my hometown. I’d be lying if I didn’t say it was special to win tonight.”

For the Bulls, it was another wasted opportunity. Though they shot better than 50 percent for a second straight game, they were done in by turnovers and sloppy mistakes. Chicago had a season-high 25 turnovers — 16 in the first half alone — and Denver turned the miscues into 30 points.

The Bulls also were in foul trouble for much of the night. Donyell Marshall played only three minutes in the first half after picking up three quick fouls, and Eddy Curry fouled out with four minutes to go.

“We will think about, and ponder, our silly mistakes: throwing the ball away, all that stuff that we rehearse every day,” Bulls coach Bill Cartwright said. “You need guys to show up. You need better performances, and that just did not happen.”

The Chicago Bulls' Kirk Hinrich, left, and Denver's Nene fight for a possession in the Nuggets' 105-97 victory. Hinrich, a Kansas University product, had 10 points in the game Monday in Chicago.

The Bulls had a 74-66 lead early in the fourth quarter, but they slacked off and let the Nuggets back into the game with a 16-2 run.

“I don’t know,” Curry said of the lapse. “We just got a little sloppy on defense and couldn’t get any shots on offense.”

Denver pushed its lead to 89-80 with 6:26 to play on a pair of free throws by Andre Miller. But the Bulls managed to make a game of it, thanks to Marshall. Fouled by Miller, Marshall made his first free throw and grabbed his own rebound when he missed the second. He made the layup, sparking a 17-8 run.

Hinrich capped the run with a free throw, tying it at 97.

“The big thing was when they made their run, we didn’t panic,” Boykins said. “We are a young team, but guys kept their heads. We knew all we needed to do was get a couple of shots and we would be OK.”

Grizzlies 105, Lakers 95

Memphis, Tenn. — Shane Battier’s four-point play with 1:58 left ended the Lakers’ last comeback attempt, helping Memphis to a victory over turnover-prone Los Angeles. The Lakers were uncommonly sloppy, committing turnovers on eight consecutive possessions early in the third quarter to let the game get away from them. Kobe Bryant scored nine straight fourth-quarter points as the Lakers pulled to 97-89, but Battier hit a three-pointer from the corner and was fouled by Bryant. The Grizzlies handed the Lakers their second straight loss and defeated them for just the third time in 32 tries in franchise history.

Cavaliers 94, Knicks 80

Cleveland — LeBron James scored 17 points — all on jumpers — and Chris Mihm had 19 for Cleveland. The one rap on James was that he couldn’t shoot from the outside, but the rookie standout showed nice range in draining seven perimeter shots, including all three of his three-point attempts. Ricky Davis added 16 points, seven rebounds and eight assists in just three quarters for the Cavaliers,.

Spurs 87, Jazz 78

San Antonio — Tim Duncan returned to the lineup to score 18 points and grab 10 rebounds. Duncan, who missed three games because of a sprained left ankle, helped the Spurs beat the Jazz for the 14th straight time. Manu Ginobili added 18 points for the NBA champions.

Suns 99, Warriors 96

Oakland, Calif. — Stephon Marbury and Joe Johnson each had 22 points, and Phoenix ended a four-game road losing streak dating to last season. Amare Stoudemire added 15 points and 18 rebounds for Phoenix.