DALLAS — This was billed as a playoff-type game, and an electric atmosphere at American Airlines Arena greeted the Nuggets when they arrived. The Mavericks used the energy to their full advantage.
They ran the weary-legged Nuggets right out of the building in a 109-93 win Monday night. At stake: A playoff tiebreaker over the Nuggets. Check, for the Mavericks. Also at stake: Firm grip of the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. Double check, for the Mavericks.
Meanwhile, the Nuggets head back home knowing what’s wrong but not being able to do much to correct it. They were disastrous on an important five-game road trip, which they finished 1-4. The Nuggets have also lost five of their last six games overall.
Carmelo Anthony was bottled up pretty much all night, finishing with 10 points on a very frigid 3-of-16 shooting. Chauncey Billups was equally as ineffective (3-of-14, 11 points), and gave way much of the night to Ty Lawson, who played solid basketball for the most part until the two played together late in the game. J.R. Smith kept the Nuggets close for a while with 27 points, and led a reserve unit that played well enough to keep the game interesting at times, though the Nuggets were never a real threat to win.
The Mavericks were led by Dirk Nowitzki’s triple-double of 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists Shawn Marion, who averaged 15.0 points in the five games prior to tonight, busted out for 21 points and played solid defense on Anthony as well.
The Nuggets return home and play on Thursday night against Portland.
A difficult road
The Nuggets finished a five-game road trip Monday with a 1-4 record. A look at the trip:
Date || Where || Result
March 23 At New York L, 109-109
March 24 At Boston L, 113-99
March 26 At Toronto W, 97-96
Sunday At Orlando L, 103-97
Monday At Dallas L, 109-93
