Mavs Lose In Denver
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DENVER — The Denver Nuggets were in control when Kenneth Faried took a seat with 5:40 left in Wednesday’s game.
Less than two minutes later, coach Brian Shaw put him back in with a clear message.
“(He) told me, ‘We need to win this game,'” Faried said.
Faried got the message.
The power forward scored 22 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and had two big blocks in the final 3:55, and the Nuggets beat the Dallas Mavericks 114-107.
Guard Ty Lawson had 29 points and 12 assists, and forward Wilson Chandler added 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets, who had to hold on down the stretch for their fifth straight victory.
“The streak is good,” Lawson said. “Keep it going.”
The Nuggets almost didn’t against a less potent Mavericks team. Dallas coach Rick Carlisle sat forward Dirk Nowitzki, guard Rajon Rondo and center Tyson Chandler for rest after an overtime game in Sacramento on Tuesday. It was just the third missed game for Nowitzki this season and the second for Chandler.
“I thought all things considered we did a lot of good things,” Carlisle said. “But we had too many lapses and mistakes, and the rebounding deficit (51-39) was one of the big problems again. We’ve got to keep working on that.”
Both teams were down to 10 available players but should get players back when
they meet up in Dallas on Friday.
“It’s human nature to relax,” Shaw said. “The caliber of players that were out compared to the players that were taking their place, it’s a big difference.”
Guard J.J. Barea led Dallas (27-13) with 17 points. Forward Richard Jefferson scored 16 for the Mavericks, who lost for the third time in four games.
Denver’s bench was shortened by injuries and a Tuesday trade, leaving Lawson on the court for 44 minutes. He had 10 points in the first half to help the Nuggets take a 59-50 lead at the break.
The Nuggets (18-20) had a comfortable 15-point advantage early in the fourth but had to hold on in the end despite the Mavericks resting three starters.
“Defensively, we didn’t play too well,” Lawson said. “We gave up too many layups. Maybe everybody will be pumped up to play against Dirk on Friday.”
Nowitzki nearly saw his team make a stunning comeback in the fourth. Dallas went on a 15-5 run to cut the margin to three, but after a Denver miss, guard Devin Harris missed a pair of 3-pointers that would have tied the score at 104.
Faried responded with four straight points and a block on forward Dwight Powell to help preserve the win.
Faried shot 8-for-8 from the foul line, including two free throws after his block on Powell.
“I was able to get my hand in there and stop him from getting to the basket,” Faried said. “At the end of the game, I was in that zone. I was able to help defensively and help rebounding. I made my free throws, and I finished at the rim.”
Denver led 61-55 before taking control in the third quarter. A 3-pointer by Chandler and two baskets by Lawson started a 17-4 run that made it 78-59 with 4:56 left in the period.
Barea hit two free throws, a 3-pointer and a tip-in as Dallas went on a 12-1 run to get within 79-71 late in the third.
Guard Alonzo Gee’s 3-pointer pushed Denver’s lead to 15, but forward Charlie Villanueva hit a 3-pointer to make it 90-78 heading into the fourth.
“We had a couple of plays there towards the end,” Jefferson said. “When you’re down by 15 or 18, you almost have to play perfect to come back, and to their credit, they were able to close it out.”
