DALLAS — When J.R. Smith gets in one of those zones, he will lock in for a long-range shot and his buddies, flashing little smiles, will say aloud, “Layup.”
The streaky Smith told this anecdote last week, when he was struggling a bit, and said, “Hopefully, I can get into the groove again.”
He got there Monday night.
Smith scored 17 fourth-quarter points in Denver’s 98-88 win in Dallas, a game the Nuggets led by just four points entering the fourth quarter.
“We don’t get this win without him stepping up,” teammate Chauncey Billups said.
The Nuggets also don’t get this win without playing “Nuggets” defense. Last season, Denver was wishy-washy on that end of the court, but this season, the first-place Nuggets (17-7) are playing cohesive, talkative defense. Dallas (13-10) shot a season-low 34.9 percent from the floor.
“We couldn’t hit a bull in the (butt) with a bass fiddle,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said, adding that when a team doesn’t play defense or make shots it is going to lose.
Defensively, the Nuggets did a great job making switches, and reserve guard Anthony Carter did a steady job guarding the perimeter.
Mavericks guard Jason Kidd finished with four points and five assists in 36 minutes, hardly Kidd-like numbers.
Nuggets coach George Karl said he was a little surprised Dallas deferred to guard J.J. Barea, who had a game-high nine assists but was 5-for-16 from the field.
The win was important because it set the tone in this demanding six-game stretch, in which Denver plays at Houston tonight, followed by games against Cleveland, Phoenix and Portland twice. And though there are questions about the Mavericks’ overall strength, they had entered Monday with victories in 11 of 14 games.
“They’re as good an offensive team as you’ll find,” Billups said.
After scoring 45 points against Minnesota and 27 in 30 minutes against Golden State, Carmelo Anthony scored 20 points in the first half. He was as hot as the city of Denver was cold. But in the second half, the Mavericks “shrunk the court” on him, Anthony said, and he scored just three points in the final two quarters.
“Instead of posting, he was popping,” Karl said. “It seemed like Devean George was physical with him, and we weren’t getting the whistle.”
After the game, Karl was complimentary of Smith’s fourth quarter (he finished with 25 points), but pointed out that Smith forced some shots in the quarter (he was 7-for-12) and made some poor decisions, including a turnover. Smith acknowledged his coach, saying: “I forced shots I shouldn’t have taken. He’s definitely right.”
Said Karl: “There’s a scoring mentality that you’ve got to live with. But I think J.R. needs to comprehend that when you have the lead, turnovers is one of your worst enemies. That’s what bothered me. I can handle his crazy shots, because he makes a lot of them, but it’s his decisions with the lead that are very wasteful. But I shouldn’t knock him. He had a great game.”
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
Nuggets Recap
What you might have missed
Kenyon Martin played well against Dallas all-star Dirk Nowitzki, who scored just two points in the pivotal fourth quarter (27 total). Martin also tallied six assists, a nice total for a power forward. And finally, Martin hit two 3-pointers. He is 6-for-9 this season from long range. . . . Denver won for only the third time in its past 20 visits to Dallas since 1997-98.
Final thought
Dallas was a little out of sync, but Denver still played smart defense and did so on the road in front of a loud crowd. It will be interesting to see how much energy the Nuggets’ low-post players have reserved when they meet the Great Wall of Houston, Yao Ming, tonight.
Benjamin Hochman, The Denver Post
