Dirk Nowitzki (41) led Dallas with 35 points in a close contest against the Nuggets that went back and forth all game long. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)Dirk Nowitzki loves to play against the Denver Nuggets (2-2).
The Dallas Mavericks (3-1) rode his strong play to their second-straight road victory to start the season against an injured and undersized Denver squad. The star power forward dropped an early season-high 35 points (on 15 of 31 shooting) and grabbed 15 rebounds for his 10th double-double in the last 12 contests, including the playoffs, against the Nuggets.
It was a back-and-forth contest in which both teams had double-digit leads at one point in the game, but it came down to one possession and Nuggets' All-Star Carmelo Anthony's 22-footer rimmed out as time expired.
"Definitely a grind-out kind of game," Nowitzki said. "Heck of a win."
"It comes down to one possession either way: You're going to walk out of here feeling great or terrible," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said.
Nowitzki scored 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the first half alone, pacing Dallas in a frenetic half that ended with the Nuggets ahead by two points going into the locker room.
The third quarter saw Jason Terry come to life, outscoring the Nuggets 11-6 by himself to start the quarter. Terry scored 16 of his 20 points in a quarter which the Mavs took their largest lead of the night at 77-66, but a 14-6 run by the Nuggets to end the quarter made it 84-80 going into the fourth.
Nowitzki, after taking a back seat to Terry in the third, came back to life in the fourth with the Mavs' first seven points to start the quarter. Ironically, Nowitzki was taken out for the final play of the game and that allowed Shawn Marion to come in and provide some tough defense that led to Melo's miss with 2 seconds left in regulation.
"That's Melo's shot. He's won a lot of games with that shot," Nowitzki said. "We were a little fortunate."
Defense tightened on both sides during crunch time. Caron Butler's three-pointer from the corner with 1:59 left put Dallas up 102-99, and the Nuggets would score only two more points the rest of the way - the only two in the final 1:59 of regulation. Butler had a defender draped on him, but the ball still managed to fall through the bottom of the net.
"Tough, tough shot," Nuggets' point guard Chauncey Billups said as he shook his head.
What's Next:
Dallas returns home to face Denver yet again in a scheduling quirk that has these teams playing half of their games against each other this season in the span of three days. The Mavs will be rested coming into the game, while the Nuggets will be coming off a game against the Los Angeles Clippers the night before.
Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m., Saturday night, and can be seen locally on KTXA 21.
News and Notes:
- The Nuggets were missing center Nene (strained groin), along with forwards Kenyon Martin and Chris Anderson (both with undisclosed injuries) in the game. Rookie Gary Forbes (12 points - all in the first half) and vet Sheldon Williams (six points, six boards) started in place of Martin and Nene, but Al Harrington was out there for the majority of the second half.
- 101 points and 46 percent shooting are both season-highs against a stingy early-season Mavs defense.
- Jason Kidd dished out 12 assists on the night. It's the third time in four games this season he has reached double-digits in helpers, and Kidd is second in the NBA (11.8 per game) early on in the year.
(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)
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