The Dallas Mavericks had a little extra when it counted most Sunday at the Pepsi Center to win their 10th straight game with an 89-85 win over the Nuggets.
The victory gave Dallas coach Avery Johnson 100 victories in a shorter time than any NBA coach.
The Nuggets had won two in a row at the Pepsi Center before faltering in the final minutes.
With center Dirk Nowitzki out because of a sinus infection, the Mavs turned to outside shooting. Devin Harris, Josh Howard and Jason Terry came through.
Denver’s Yakhouba Diawara failed to make any of his 11 shots from the field, missing several key chances down the stretch.
“I missed a lot of open shots,” Diawara said. “I tried to help my team tonight, but I couldn’t do it. It’s time to move on.”
The Nuggets developed a pattern of taking six-point leads, then fighting off a Dallas rally.
But the pattern was broken when Devean George’s field goal caught the Nuggets at 79-79 with 5:13 left in the game. Earl Boykins gave Denver its last lead, 81-79.
“Going down the stretch, we were missing jump shots,” Nuggets center Marcus Camby said. “In a game like this, we had to attack the basket and get ourselves to the free-throw line. They’re a great shooting team and I felt we were trying to outshoot them. We’re never going to outshoot teams, especially with the personnel we have on the floor right now.”
Allen Iverson staged a gritty performance with 28 points and eight steals. Camby played for the first time in five games and had 13 points and 13 rebounds.
The Nuggets maintained their six-point advantage through an up-and-down third period, taking a 69-63 lead into the final 12 minutes.
There might not have been a more graphic example of Iverson’s importance to this Nuggets team than a segment of the second period after he picked up his third foul with 8:43 left in the half.
Except for Boykins, who kept Denver chugging along with consecutive field goals and two free throws, the Nuggets were flat with Iverson on the bench. He returned when Boykins hit two free throws, keeping the Nuggets ahead 34-32 with 4:48 left.
Iverson quickly connected on two free throws, Eduardo Najera added a three-point play and Iverson banged in a field goal to pull Denver ahead, 40-34.
After a sluggish start, it was Iverson, Boykins and Linas Kleiza who triggered a 15-0 run by the Nuggets that stretched into the second period. Iverson’s field goal boosted the Nuggets to a 26-20 lead with 11:18 left in the second period, the run beginning with Dallas ahead 20-11 on Josh Howard’s 3-pointer with 3:05 left in the first period. Kleiza’s field goal started the rally.
Staff writer Irv Moss can be reached at 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
