Behind a triple-double from Nikola Jokic, the Nuggets held on without their shooting guard to secure a desperately needed 120-113 victory over the Pistons, one that produced far more anxiety than the Nuggets cared for after building a 96-70 edge with five minutes left in the third quarter.

The Pistons used an 18-2 run, sparked by red-hot 3-point shooting by Blake Griffin, to quickly get back into the game. A maligned bench that had helped spark the Nuggets to a 14-point halftime lead suddenly went cold when it was called upon in the second half.

The Nuggets pushed the lead back to 10 points following Harris’ exit in the fourth quarter, but Detroit trimmed that lead to 113-107 with 1:20 left on a jump shot by Dwight Buycks. But a reverse layup by Will Barton pushed the lead back to eight points, and Denver held on from there.

The victory pushed the Nuggets (38-31) into a ninth-place tie in the Western Conference with the Clippers. The Spurs, by virtue of their victory over the Pelicans, remained one game ahead in the eighth spot. The seventh-place Jazz, who also entered Thursday one game ahead of Denver, played late at Phoenix.