DALLAS — After all those trips between South Dakota and Denver the last couple months, Malik Beasley was ready to stretch his legs.
The rookie guard from Florida State, entering the rotation in the first game since Denver was eliminated from playoff contention Sunday, scored a career-high 16 points to lead the Nuggets to a 109-91 win over the Mavericks in front of a capacity crowd at American Airlines Center.
“I told (Darrell Arthur) before the game that I was a little nervous. It was my first game, really,” said Beasley, who had been used primarily in mop-up roles before Tuesday. “He just said, ‘Stay positive and do what you do best.'”
The fans showed up to see former Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, who last week chose to begin a career in broadcasting instead of extending his football one. They stayed to watch two lottery-bound teams unleash their prospects — and a couple seldom-used vets.
The Nuggets (39-42), whose last hope at the postseason was dashed with Russell Westbrook’s heroic heave Sunday, flipped the calendar ahead to next season as they allotted big minutes for rookies Beasley, Juancho Hernangomez and Jamal Murray, who played in his 81st straight game.
Beasley, the 20-year-old guard who spent most of the season shuffling back and forth from the D-League outpost in Sioux Falls, S.D., scored 12 points in the first half to help the Nuggets turn a 10-point deficit into a 57-44 lead. Beasley displayed his athleticism by catching a lob from Gary Harris high above the rim. He knocked down two 3-pointers. He grabbed an offensive rebound and scored a putback in traffic.
“And I would add to that his defense,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “Right when he got in the game he left his feet on a shot fake. I told him to stay down, got on him. After that I thought his effort defensively was great.”
Beasley said falling for the pump fake actually helped him calm his nerves.
“I settled down after I got scored on,” he said. “I told myself to calm down, play the game and have fun. That’s when I locked in. That was probably the best defensive game I played all season.”
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Denver will head into the offseason with a backlog of guards, even if they don’t select one with their first-round pick for the fourth consecutive year. While a two-game dive into the rotation for Beasley is but a small cameo, Malone said he was anxious to see what the 6-foot-5 guard would bring after averaging nearly 19 points per game in the D-League this season.
Beasley, who added five rebounds and two assists, drove sharply along the baseline in the fourth quarter and threw down a dunk. Hernangomez, who finished with 14 points, then knocked down a 3-pointer that put the Nuggets up 13 points midway through the fourth quarter.
The Mavericks cut the lead to eight, but back-to-back 3-pointers by seldom-used veteran Mike Miller with less than four minutes left gave the Nuggets the cushion they needed to hang on.
“That speaks to him staying in shape and playing the whole year,” Malone said of Miller, who had eight points, seven rebounds and six assists. “He’s not a vet that’s just hanging out in the locker room eating pregame meal, postgame meal. He works. Mike Miller works.”
Gary Harris narrowly missed a triple-double, putting up 20 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. With Jameer Nelson, Emmanuel Mudiay and Gary Barton all missing the game, Harris actually played point guard during a short stretch for the first time in his career.
“We were just out there moving,” Harris said. “We weren’t really running too much. We were just going out there. I was trying to keep Malik (Beasley) calm. He was over there super excited, but it was good to see him play well.”
A victory in their season finale at Oklahoma City would give the Nuggets their first 40-win season since 2012-13.
Reaching that mark will likely require the Nuggets slowing Westbrook three days after he dropped 50 on Denver to end its season.
Asked if he was up to the challenge of corralling the possible MVP, Beasley responded with a veteran’s wit.
“That’s for Gary,” Beasley said. “Gary Harris got that one.”
