Dallas @ Denver preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 14, 2019 ) Dallas 99, Denver 100

The Denver Nuggets aim to continue their recent home mastery over Dallas when they host the Mavericks on Tuesday. Denver has won the last six meetings at the Pepsi Center and 11 of 13 entering the first of two games to be played in the Mile High city this season.

The Nuggets are one of four remaining unbeaten teams but will look to improve on a 36.7-percent shooting effort that occurred in Monday's 101-94 road victory over the Sacramento Kings. "At the end of the day, the defense won us the game," shooting guard Gary Harris said afterward. "It feels good to be 3-0." Dallas won its first two games of the season before suffering a 121-119 road loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday. Forward Kristaps Porzingis scored a season-best 32 points for his 15th career 30-point outing but it was his first since Dec. 30, 2017 with the New York Knicks, five-plus weeks prior to the serious knee injury that caused him to miss 20 months.

TV: 9 p.m. ET, FS Southwest (Dallas), Altitude (Denver)

ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (2-1): Porzingis is averaging 26.3 points over his first three games with Dallas and is teaming well with star guard Luka Doncic, who is averaging 29.3 points, 10.3 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 2.3 steals. The Mavericks were a porous 13-of-50 from 3-point range against Portland to drop to 30.2 percent on the campaign but Porzingis was more disappointed the club missed five fourth-quarter free throws during a two-point setback. "Free throws, you got to make those," Porzingis told reporters. "There's nothing to say about that. There's so many things in the game, so many things we can get better at. That's the good thing about it. We have so much room to grow as a group."

ABOUT THE NUGGETS (3-0): Star center Nikola Jokic had 13 rebounds against Sacramento but struggled with 4-of-15 shooting while scoring nine points to fall short of his third straight double-double. Jokic scored 20 or more points in each of the first two contests and has collected at least 13 rebounds in all three games. Point guard Jamal Murray (18 points) and Harris (17) led the way against the Kings and the defense limited a team below 100 points for the first time this season.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Nuggets won all three meetings with the Mavericks last season, marking their first sweep of the series since going 4-0 in 2008-09.

2. Denver swingman Will Barton is averaging 12.3 points but is 9-of-28 shooting in the first three games.

3. Dallas PF Dwight Powell (hamstring) is expected to miss his fourth straight game.

PREDICTION: Nuggets 112, Mavericks 99