Denver, CO – Andre Iguodala made the game-winning layup with 2.8 seconds remaining and Corey Brewer blocked Anthony Morrow's potential game-winning trey to lift the Denver Nuggets to their 19th straight home win in a 95-94 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday.
Brewer also scored 23 points while Andre Miller had 22 points and seven assists for the Nuggets, who are on a three-game winning streak. Kenneth Faried had 12 points, 19 rebounds and four blocks in the victory.
With the win, the Nuggets are now three games behind the Thunder for second place in the Western Conference standings and improved their home record to an NBA-best 34-3.
Brandan Wright had a team-high 16 points for the Mavericks, who have lost three of their last four games. Dirk Nowitzki and Chris Kaman scored 13 points apiece in the setback.
The Mavericks are now three games behind the Lakers for the eighth spot in the Western Conference with seven games left on the schedule.
"We were right there, and it just didn't happen for us," Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle said.
Dallas had a 77-70 lead entering the fourth quarter. After a jumper by Brewer, the Mavericks' Jae Crowder sank a 3-pointer to extend their lead to eight, 80-72.
However, a 7-0 spurt by the Nuggets cut the deficit to 80-79 with just under nine minutes to play in regulation.
The Nuggets tied the game at 86-86 with 4:39 remaining after a triple by Iguodala, but weren't able to take the lead just yet.
Down 94-91 with 1:48 left, Miller made a turnaround jump shot and drew a foul on O.J. Mayo, but missed a free throw that would have tied the game.
Both teams struggled to shoot at the end. The Mavericks missed two attempts and Nowitzki had a turnover with 19.9 seconds to go. The Nuggets were even worse, missing three shots, including an Iguodala layup that was blocked by Nowitzki, and were unable to convert any of their five free throw attempts.
With nine seconds remaining, Brewer grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed free throw by Faried and the Nuggets called a full timeout with 7.7 seconds left. Iguodala then made the driving layup to put the Nuggets on top.
"It felt good," Iguodala said. "I gathered myself the way I wanted to and got a good look."
However, Dallas immediately called a 20-second timeout, giving the Mavericks one last chance. Morrow attempted the 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds on the clock, but was blocked by Brewer, giving Denver the victory.
The Mavericks had the lead for most of the contest. Denver's only lead until the game-winning shot was when Danilo Gallinari sank a bank shot with 7:01 left in the second quarter to give the Nuggets a 33-32 edge. The Nuggets led for 52 seconds until Shawn Marion made a hook shot to retake the lead for the Mavericks.
Later in the half, Gallinari left the game with a knee injury as his leg buckled while driving the lane. He later made it to the bench and was taken into the locker room in a wheelchair. He will have an MRI on Friday.
Game Notes
Wright scored all of his points in the first half ... The Mavericks were 4- of-18 from beyond the arc ... This was the first game in which both teams scored under 100 points since Jan. 13, 2009, when the Nuggets won 99-97 ... Denver leads the season series 2-0 ... The Nuggets face the Mavericks one more time this season on April 12, in Dallas. Denver will be looking for its first series sweep against Dallas for the first time since the 2008-09 season.
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