DENVER-
Carmelo Anthony stole Dirk Nowitzki’s skip pass in the closing seconds, then sank two free throws with 9 seconds left, leading the Denver Nuggets past the Dallas Mavericks 75-71 Friday night.
Anthony, whose alley-oop dunk from Marcus Camby broke a 71-71 tie with just over a minute left, stepped in front of Nowitzki’s crosscourt pass and then drew the foul going to the hoop.
Anthony finished with 23 points and Allen Iverson added 22 as the Nuggets won their fourth straight and prevented the Mavericks from completing a season sweep.
More importantly, it kept them 1 1/2 games ahead of the Los Angeles Clippers in the eighth playoff spot in the West and a probable first-round matchup with the Mavericks.
Nowitzki, who missed the Mavs’ last game with food poisoning, finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds, but Dallas’ second-leading scorer, Josh Howard, sprained his right ankle going for a loose ball at midcourt with 4:40 left in the first quarter and didn’t return. He finished with two points.
