Chauncey Billups went into halftime 0-for-Tuesday.
But in the third quarter, which has been the Nuggets’ worst of late, Billups shot confident jumpers in the frozen faces of the Kings, totaling 16 points in those 12 minutes and helping the Nuggets cruise to a 118-99 victory at the Pepsi Center.
The division-leading Nuggets (28-15) ended a two-game losing streak and improved to 17-6 at home.
Billups, a former Colorado star, finished with 22 points and eight assists.
Denver now has four consecutive days without a game, the longest stretch of the season.
The Nuggets seemed as sleepy as the Pepsi Center crowd to begin Tuesday’s game, allowing the Kings to shoot 73.3 percent in the first quarter and falling behind by 10 points in the second quarter (34-24).
But the Nuggets went on a 23-13 run to close the first half, and they led by 10 points entering the third quarter. Then Billups erupted, and Denver led 94-75 entering the fourth quarter.
Sacramento is just 10-32, but you have to give the Nuggets credit for taking care of business.
They improved to 16-1 this season in games against teams with sub-.500 records, the lone team in the NBA with just one loss against such teams.
