Field Level Media
Jan 25, 2021
Michael Porter Jr. scored a season-high-tying 30 points, Nikola Jokic had 20 points and 10 rebounds and the visiting Denver Nuggets beat the Dallas Mavericks 117-113 on Monday night.
JaMychal Green had 17 points and eight rebounds, Jamal Murray scored 16 before being ejected and Gary Harris scored 10 for Denver, which has won the first three games of a five-game road trip.
Murray was hit with a flagrant-2 foul with 4:51 left in the third quarter for excessive contact to Tim Hardaway Jr.'s groin.
Luka Doncic amassed 35 points, 16 assists and 11 rebounds, Hardaway scored 19 points, Kristaps Porzingis and James Johnson had 16 apiece and Jalen Brunson scored 12 for the Mavericks.
Denver led by seven when Murray was ejected, but Hardaway tied it on a dunk, part of his personal run of nine consecutive points.
Dallas continued its surge, going ahead 90-83 on a runner in the lane by Doncic. The Nuggets closed the third quarter on a 9-4 run to get within 94-92 heading into the fourth.
Green opened the fourth with a 3-pointer, Monte Morris scored on a layup and Green hit two free throws to give the Nuggets a 99-94 lead. It was 102-97 before Johnson hit a 3-pointer. Green replied with a layup, but Doncic hit two jumpers and Johnson a layup to put the Mavericks ahead 106-104 with 3:33 to go.
The Nuggets responded with seven straight points to lead by five with 2:21 left. After Porzingis split a pair of free throws to make it 111-107, Porter hit a corner 3-pointer with 41.8 seconds left.
Hardaway made one of two free throws before Denver's Will Barton drained two from the line to seal the outcome.
Murray scored 16 first-half points to help Denver take as much as a 13-point lead. Doncic, who had 21 in the first half, hit a 3-pointer with 34.3 seconds left to cut the deficit to nine, but Murray answered with one from long range to give the Nuggets a 70-58 lead heading into intermission.
--Field Level Media