Charlotte Bobcats guard Raymond Felton (right) loses control of the ball after being fouled by Denver Nuggets forward Chris Andersen in the first quarter of an NBA basketball game in Denver on Monday, January 25, 2010. (AP)

DENVER, January 25, 2010 (AP) – Chauncey Billups scored 27 points, Aaron Afflalo matched his career high with 24 points and the depleted Denver Nuggets beat the Charlotte Bobcats 104-93 for their season-high seventh straight win.

Stephen Jackson had 22 points and Gerald Wallace added 20 for the Bobcats, who lost their third in a row since a franchise-tying six-game winning streak.

The Nuggets were playing without leading scorer Carmelo Anthony, who sprained his left ankle in overtime Saturday against New Orleans. They lost forward Kenyon Martin to an ejection late in the second quarter when he argued with officials over a foul call against teammate J.R. Smith.

Early in the fourth quarter, Denver's Chris Anderson got his feet tangled underneath the basket going for a rebound and crashed to the floor. He limped off the floor with 11:02 remaining with a left ankle sprain. He returned to the bench a couple minutes later but did not go back into the game.

The Bobcats kept the game close most the way, trailing 29-26 after the first quarter and 56-52 at halftime.

But the Nuggets began pulling away midway through the third quarter.

After a Nazr Mohammed's dunk pulled the Bobcats to 64-61, Billups, who also had 11 assists, converted a three-point play to start a 13-4 run that carried the Nuggets to a 77-65 lead with 3:58 remaining in the third quarter.

Joey Graham, who started in place of Anthony, scored six of his 13 points in the surge and Afflalo hit a key 3-pointer.

When Smith, who drew management's ire by sulking on the bench over a lack of playing time in last Saturday's overtime win against New Orleans, connected on a 3-pointer, the Nuggets had an 84-73 lead going into the fourth quarter.

The Bobcats pulled to 91-80 on a layup by Wallace but Nene made a pair of free throws and Afflalo, who made six of seven from 3-point range, connected again from beyond the arc to give the Nuggets a 96-80 lead with 6:01 remaining.