Barea has 18 points and 11 assists as Mavericks beat Nuggets 97-88
J.J. Barea had 18 points (9 on 3 3-pointers) and 11 assists, and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Denver Nuggets 97-88.
The Mavericks took control with a 22-8 run bridging the first and second quarters and led by as many as 11.
The Nuggets got within 72-70 on Darrell Arthur’s 9-foot jumper with 10:03 to play, but Dirk Nowitzki answered with a 17-foot fadeaway, and the Nuggets got no closer.
Late in the fourth quarter, Nikola Jokić had 2 steals in 43 seconds, and the Nuggets scored 2 points off them.
The Mavericks had 7 players in double-digit scoring.
For the Nuggets, Will Barton had 23 points (15 on 5 3-pointers) and 8 rebounds off the bench.
The Nuggets forced 4 turnovers, about 9 fewer than usual for this many possessions. They outscored the Mavericks 18-6 on the fast break. The Mavericks did not make a field goal in the last 3:18. The Mavericks outscored the Nuggets 32-19 in 12 minutes with Nowitzki, Pachulia, Harris, Barea and Anderson on the floor together.