AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Will Barton has delivered plenty of late-game heroics for the Denver Nuggets off the bench this season. Barton did it again on Wednesday, and an added boost from backup center Jusuf Nurkic lifted the Nuggets to a satisfying win heading into the All-Star break.

Barton scored a game-high 20 points off the bench, including 15 during the fourth quarter, while Nurkic recorded season highs with 16 points and 11 rebounds as the Nuggets downed the depleted Detroit Pistons 103-92 at The Palace.

Barton ranks among the top 10 league-wide in fourth-quarter scoring but Nurkic's eight-point, six-rebound effort in the final 12 minutes was a welcome boost. Nurkic also blocked a Marcus Morris shot in the late going as the Nuggets were pulling away.

"Will, he's been doing that the whole season but Jusuf, that was the biggest surprise, coming in and doing what he did, having a double-double," said Denver rookie point guard Emmanuel Mudiay, who had 14 points and six assists. "That block was one of the biggest plays of the game, when he came over from the weak side, and that really sealed the deal."

The Nuggets (22-32) bounced back from a last-second loss to Brooklyn on Monday and gave an emotional lift to first-year head coach Michael Malone. He learned prior to the game that the wife of a close friend, Oklahoma City assistant coach Monty Williams, died in a car accident.

"The first half, I coached very angry," a tearful Malone said. "I was taking my anger out on them and they don't deserve that."

Small forward Danilo Gallinari contributed 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists for Denver, which shot 47 percent while outscoring Detroit 62-46 in the paint and 17-8 on fast breaks.

"We had a little goal set up to go 4-2 before the All-Star break and we reached it," Mudiay said.

The Pistons (27-27), who have lost six of their last eight games, had only nine available players and were missing three starters. Point guard Reggie Jackson and power forward Ersan Ilyasova were sidelined by illnesses while shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was nursing a core muscle strain.

Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy wasn't offering any excuses.

"We just didn't do our job," he said. "We didn't play well. We turned the ball over, didn't run back on defense a couple of times. Didn't defend hard enough. Had nothing to do with guys being sick or out."

The Pistons are fighting for a playoff spot and they'll have a long time to ponder how to improve their play over the final 28 games.

"We have to buckle down and pay attention to some detail things that are going to take us to the next level," reserve point guard Steve Blake said. "I think Coach will get us in the right position to do that and help us make a strong push down the stretch."

Morris led Detroit with 19 points and six assists, point guard Brandon Jennings supplied 16 points and All-Star center Andre Drummond collected his league-leading 45th double-double with 15 points and 17 rebounds. Morris, the Pistons' small forward, passed the 3,000-point mark in his career during the first half.

Barton put the game away with a personal 9-0 run, making it 97-84 with 2:23 left.

"I call him our Vinnie Johnson," said Malone, referring to the former Pistons sixth man. "The second half, he and Nurkic carried us and made big plays down the stretch. I put the ball in his hands. The first half, I didn't give him many touches. But he's had some really big scoring nights and the thing I love about Will is that he does it most nights very efficiently."

NOTES: Former Pistons PG Chauncey Billups had his No. 1 jersey raised to the rafters during a halftime ceremony. Billups was the MVP of the 2004 NBA Finals. ... Pistons SG Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (core muscle strain) missed his fourth straight game. Backup SG Reggie Bullock (broken nose surgery) was also out. "We haven't really had a lot of problems and it's sort of jumped on us in the last 10 days or so," Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy said. "Normally, I don't like the (All-Star) break, but right now it's good for us." ... The Nuggets won nine of the last 11 meetings, including a 104-101 victory last month in Denver. ... Nuggets PG Jameer Nelson (left wrist sprain) was inactive for the 11th straight game. ... Denver SG Will Barton's fourth-quarter scoring average of 6.2 points ranks eighth in the league.