The Nuggets probably were buzzing on the flight back from Charlotte after extending the franchise-record road winning streak to 10 games. Here are three takeaways from Denver’s 115-106 win over the Hornets on Sunday at Spectrum Center: 1. For a team that hasn’t always won the winnable game s this season, the Nuggets took care of business thanks to a professional performance in Charlotte. The Hornets, who were playing without LaMelo Ball, Grant Williams and a handful of others, had one route to stay in the game — the 3-point shot. The Hornets launched 46 treys and made just 14. Rookie Liam McNeeley was responsible for three of those makes in the first quarter. After that, the Nuggets dialed in and took care of business thanks to the usual suspects. 2. It looked like Jamal Murray was on the way to another massive game. He scored 23 of his game-high 34 points in the first quarter. He finished 14 of 25 from the field with seven of those misses coming on nine attempts from 3-point range with five assists and three steals. Murray’s ability to get to the basket and convert has provided the foundation for the best start to a season in his career. The All-Star bid is getting more and more realistic with each game. After Murray’s hot start, Nikola Jokic provided the finishing touch. Jokic scored 28 points on 16 shots, dished out 11 assists and grabbed nine rebounds. He passed Michael Jordan on the NBA’s career assists charts and tied Chauncey Billups with his 5,636th assist in the final five minutes. 3. David Adelman adjusted his rotation against a young and inexperienced Hornets squad. Zeke Nnaji had been getting minutes as a reserve forward, but Adelman opted to go smaller, inserting Jalen Pickett into a nine-man rotation. Pickett wasn’t spectacular, but he was steady, posting five points, four rebounds and three assists in 16 minutes of playing time. He didn’t commit a turnover and made 2 of the 3 shots he attempted from the field. Pickett’s contributions were especially valuable on a night Bruce Brown missed all three of his shots and did not contribute any other stats in 20 minutes on the court. Tim Hardaway Jr. continued to be the bench’s most reliable scorer with 14 points, while Jonas Valanciunas added eight for the new-look second unit. NUGGETS 115, HORNETS 106 What happened: The game was tied after 12 minutes, and Charlotte took a 58-57 lead to halftime. Denver moved ahead by six to start the fourth and improved to 17-6 on the season. What went right: After giving up 34 points in the first quarter, the Nuggets held Charlotte to 24, 23 and 25 points in the final three quarters. Denver forced 14 turnovers, and the Hornets shot under 45% from the field. What went wrong: Denver didn’t provide much resistance against Miles Bridges inside. The Charlotte forward made 10 of 13 shots inside the arc for a team-high 24 points. He also grabbed nine rebounds and dished out eight assists. Highlight of the night: Nikola Jokic threw a touchdown pass to Peyton Watson for a dunk in the third quarter, and the two connected again in the final five minutes. The second time Watson threw down a dunk over Hornets rookies Ryan Kalkbrenner and Kon Knueppel, while drawing a foul on the latter. Up next: It’s back to Denver for a few days before the Nuggets head to Sacramento for Thursday’s game against the Kings. ...read more read less