Mavericks 92, Nuggets 81
DALLAS -- Whatever the Denver Nuggets did at halftime Saturday night, they will never want to repeat it.
After shooting better than 50 percent from the field in the first half and taking a 52-48 lead against the Dallas Mavericks into halftime, the Nuggets couldn't buy a bucket in the third quarter. They went scoreless in the first 8:55 of the quarter and finished with just two field goals and five points.
It turned a promising start into a sixth consecutive loss as Dallas used the 25-5 quarter to flip the game in their favor for a 92-81 victory at American Airlines Center.
The Mavs needed the win almost as much Denver. They snapped a three-game losing streak, all on a recent road trip, and were making this one-game pitstop at home before heading out again for a back-to-back starting Monday at Sacramento.
Denver’s five points set a Dallas franchise record for the lowest total in a quarter by an opponent. The Nuggets, outscored 16-0 in the opening eight minutes while going 0 of 15 from the floor, ended the quarter 2 of 19 shooting, including 1 of 8 from beyond the arc, with nine turnovers.
The Nuggets' 81 points was a low by a Mavs opponent this season.
Dallas point guard Deron Williams hit four 3-pointers and led all scorers with 22 points, his second-highest scoring game of the season. Center ZaZa Pachulia had 16 points and 12 rebounds, and forward Dirk Nowitzki finished with 13 points and seven rebounds. Guard Raymond Felton contributed 12 off the bench.
Forward Darrell Arthur paced Denver (6-11) with 16 points. Guard Will Barton had 14 points off the bench and Danilo Gallinari, who typically has big games against the Mavs, finished with 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting from the floor and 2-of-6 from 3-point range.
Second-chance points and a quicker lineup awakened the Nuggets early into the fourth quarter, slicing Dallas' lead to 83-72 with 7:21 to go. But the cold-shooting Nuggets came no closer.
Dallas (10-7) had two days off and Denver was coming off a loss the night before at San Antonio. Yet the Nuggets got off to the faster start to lead nearly all of the first half while shooting 52.6 percent from the floor, including 4 of 8 from beyond the arc.
Then came halftime and everything fell apart for the Nuggets.
NOTES: Mavericks G J.J. Barea will miss at least three games with a sprained right ankle suffered in the second half of Wednesday's loss at San Antonio. Barea has been a significant part of Dallas' bench, averaging 8.6 points and 4.1 assists in 19.8 minutes ... The Mavs are working to get F Dirk Nowitzki more shots. He leads the team in scoring (17.4 ppg) and leads the league in 3-point shooting (51 percent), but he has 13 or fewer shot attempts in nine of 16 games. Nowitzki entered Saturday's game needing seven field goals to become the 13th player in NBA history with at least 10,000 career field goals. ... Dallas returned home for one game after an 0-3 road trip. Then it's back on the road for a back-to-back at Sacramento on Monday and at Portland on Tuesday. ... Mavs G Wesley Matthews missed a shootaround with an illness but was able to play. ... Denver was playing the tail end of its fourth back-to-back of the season. It was 0-3 in the second leg entering Saturday's game. ... Nuggets G Gary Harris missed Saturday's game with concussion symptoms. G Randy Foye started in his place. ... F Kenneth Faried (left ankle sprain) was back on the active roster but was not in the starting lineup. ... Two of Denver's starters, F Darrell Arthur and rookie G Emmanuel Mudiay, attended high school in Dallas. ... Denver entered Saturday's game on a five-game skid.