Denver, CO (SportsNetwork.com) - Raymond Felton's layup with 1.5 seconds left was the difference as the Dallas Mavericks outlasted the Denver Nuggets 144-143 in a double-overtime thriller from the Pepsi Center.
Five of Felton's 11 points came during the second extra session, and the Mavericks survived blowing a 21-point halftime lead as well as a career-best 47-point eruption from Denver's Danilo Gallinari.
"Could've been more fun if we had won," Gallinari said of his career high.
Dirk Nowitzki added 25 points and nine rebounds for the Mavericks, already locked into the No. 7 playoff seed in the Western Conference. Richard Jefferson scored 24 and Devin Harris netted 21 on 7-of-9 shooting.
"It's most interesting meaningless game I've ever seen," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said.
Gallinari was the driving force behind the Nuggets' second-half comeback, pouring in 21 second-half points and dropping in 17 more over the two overtime periods. The sharpshooter was 15-of-23 overall from the floor, hit 7-of-12 attempts from 3-point range and a perfect 10-of-10 from the foul line.
Wilson Chandler finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds in the loss, with Ty Lawson amassing 19 points and a career-high 18 assists for Denver.
Gallinari's final two points came via two free throws that staked Denver to a 143-139 lead with 2:16 remaining in the second overtime. Felton knocked down a straight-on 3-pointer on the other end, however, and the Nuggets came up empty on their next three possessions before Felton beat Randy Foye off the dribble, charged to the hoop and put the ball in with his right hand.
Denver had one last chance to pull it out, but Kenneth Faried's contested jumper in the lane landed short of the rim.
The Mavericks opened up a 73-52 halftime lead by shooting nearly 63 percent over the first two quarters, but Gallinari got hot in the third to enable Denver to close the gap substantially.
He put up 13 points for the frame and helped spark a 25-9 run over the final eight minutes of the quarter, with the surge bringing the Nuggets within four after Foye drained a triple to trim the deficit to 93-89 entering the fourth.
Denver moved in front by a 119-115 count on back-to-back treys from Chandler and Lawson, the last coming with 1:42 left in the fourth quarter. However, consecutive buckets by Nowitzki and Harris squared things once again heading into the final minute.
Faried's dunk off a Lawson give was countered by Jefferson's driving layup that knotted the score at 121-121 at the end of regulation.
The Nuggets were again in control during the first OT, taking a 134-130 advantage with 1:45 on the clock on 3-pointers by Chandler and Gallinari sandwiched around a jumper by Dallas' Monta Ellis.
Nowitzki then buried a jumper and Ellis scored in transition after Chandler misfired from long range, evening the score at 134-134 with a minute to go.
Both teams failed on opportunities to potentially end it in the first overtime. Nowitzki couldn't connect on a turnaround try with 21.9 seconds remaining, and Lawson missed the mark on a 21-footer with nearly no time left.
Game Notes
Gallinari's 47 points were the most by a Nuggets player since Carmelo Anthony had 50 against Houston on Feb. 7, 2011 ... Dallas played without point guard Rajon Rondo (rest) and forward Chandler Parsons, who missed a third straight game due to a swollen knee ... The Nuggets reached the 50-loss mark in a season for the first time since 2002-03 ... Dallas has won back-to-back games for the first time since a three-game streak from March 13-16 ... The Mavericks halted a string of four straight losses in Denver.
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