DENVER -- Emmanuel Mudiay never played college basketball, let alone taking part in the NCAA Tournament. No problem. He can come up with his own version of March Madness.

Denver's rookie guard hit a miraculous 3-pointer from just inside the half-court line as time expired Wednesday night, and the Nuggets defeated the Philadelphia 76ers, 104-103.

The 76ers scored eight straight points late in the fourth quarter to take a 102-97 lead. Mudiay missed a driving layup in the final 10 seconds, and after Philadelphia's Robert Covington made a free throw with 3.1 seconds to go, the 76ers looked ready to win for the 10th time this season.

But Mudiay took the inbounds pass from the Nuggets baseline and dribbled up the right sideline. At midcourt, 76ers guard T.J. McConnell briefly knocked the ball from Mudiay's hands. The Nuggets rookie picked it up off the floor before another 76ers guard, Isaiah Canaan, could grab it. Then he heaved in an off-balance prayer a fraction of a second before the final horn sounded. The Nuggets had missed their previous seven field goal attempts prior to Mudiay's 3.

"Before that I was really thinking about March Madness," Mudiay said. "That's what I was thinking about. I was like, 'Man, anything can happen right now.' I'm never going to give up until the buzzer."

The elation that immediately followed Mudiay's shot and continued into Denver's locker room was a stark contrast Philadelphia's despondence. The 76ers (9-63) are losers of seven straight while also having dropped 20 of their past 21 games.

"He made what seemed to be a double-clutch 3-pointer," McConnell said. "It's one of the craziest shots I've ever seen. There really isn't much else to say.

"If we're going to lose like that, so be it. He'll miss that nine out of 10 times. I thought we defended that shot as best as we could. ... They made a miraculous shot in the end. Kudos to him, he made it, but that's a bad way to lose."

Philadelphia hit 15-of-37 3-pointers and outscored the Nuggets 45-18 from 3-point range, but Mudiay made the most important trey of the night. The 15 3s was one shy of Philadelphia's franchise record. Five 76ers scored in double digits. McConnell led them with 17 points.

76ers coach Brett Brown said the defense his team played on the final possession was what he wanted, and he wouldn't change anything about it. Except for the outcome, obviously. Brown was more concerned with his team's play in the second quarter, when it was outscored 29-10 and shot 5-for-27 from the field.

"We'll probably look back at that second period as one that haunted us the most out of any of the four. But it's a cruel way to have a loss," Brown said.

Denver won its 30th game of the season, matching its total from 2014-15. The Nuggets lost four of their past five. Mudiay led them with 27 points while Gary Harris and Nikola Jokic added 18 apiece. Jokic had 11 in the fourth quarter.

"I couldn't be happier for (Mudiay), I couldn't be happier for our guys," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said.

"This is only going to breed confidence for those guys, knowing they have been out here in game-tying-game-winning situations. We cannot replicate that in practice, on the floor, or in a film session."

The official attendance was listed as 10,684, but a much smaller crowd attended after 19 1/2 inches of snow fell in Denver on Wednesday. Hundreds of flights in and out of Denver were canceled, and lead referee Rodney Mott could not make it to town, leaving a two-man crew to officiate the game.

Mott missed a game between two teams that are headed to the NBA Draft Lottery. But it was anything but dull.

"Honestly, I just want to win as many games as we can this year, whether we don't make the plays or not," Mudiay said. "We are trying to change the culture because it's been down for about two years now. But my whole thing is to make it to the playoffs and one way win some championships."

NOTES: 76ers coach Brett Brown said F/C Nerlens Noel did not play due to a right knee contusion that has bothered him for a while. Noel was averaging 11.1 points and eight rebounds per game. ... 76ers Fs Robert Covington (concussion protocol) and Richaun Holmes (right Achilles strain) were available for the first time since suffering their injuries in a March 11 win over Brooklyn. ... F Danilo Gallinari, Denver's leading scorer, missed his 13th straight game with a right ankle sprain. F Kenneth Faired missed his fourth in a row because of low back soreness. F Jakarr Sampson started after suffering a right shoulder sprain Monday in Cleveland. He received a shot on Tuesday that Nuggets Malone said made the shoulder feel much better. Philadelphia waived Sampson on Feb. 18.