Denver @ Dallas preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 27, 2018 ) Dallas 89, Denver 91

The Denver Nuggets finally found some success on the road to go with their stellar play at home and they look to cap a perfect three-game road trip with a visit to the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday. The Nuggets began the trip with a 9-19 mark away from home but knocked off Memphis and Cleveland to maintain their hold on the eighth spot in the Western Conference playoff race.

"For us to come in here on a back to back and beat [the Cavaliers], they were doing everything they could to get that win," Nuggets coach Michael Malone told reporters after the 126-117 win in Cleveland on Saturday. "I couldn't be prouder of our guys. Important win." Gary Harris and Will Barton combined for 55 points while making 10-of-20 3-pointers in the victory for Denver, which entered Monday a half-game ahead of the ninth-place Los Angeles Clippers but just two games out of third place. The Mavericks are among four teams separated by one game at the bottom of the conference. They were throttled 126-109 by New Orleans in the opener of a four-game homestand on Sunday.

TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, Altitude 2 (Denver), FS Southwest (Dallas)

ABOUT THE NUGGETS (35-28): Denver lost its first six road games in 2018 - all to conference opponents - but has since claimed four straight away from the Mile High City. "There's a great belief in our locker room," Malone told the media at Monday's practice while discussing the recent road success. "I love the chemistry. I love the vibe and I love the fact that we're doing it as one, collectively. That's the most important thing about our team right now." The team has thrived on the trip despite the fact that star center Nikola Jokic scored just nine points - nearly eight below his average - in both games while shooting 5-for-13 from the floor.

ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (19-45): The team's oldest and youngest players - future Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki and rookie Dennis Smith Jr. - scored 23 points apiece in the loss to the Pelicans. Smith might reach many milestones down the road while Nowitzki continues to climb up several lists and needs just two rebounds to move ahead of Dolph Schayes (11,256) and into 27th place on the NBA's all-time list. The 39-year-old Nowitzki figures to move into third place on the all-time minutes played list and into fifth on the games played list in the next couple of weeks.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Mavericks SG Wesley Matthews (hip) missed Sunday's game and is questionable for this one.

2. Barton is averaging 22.8 points while shooting 59 percent over the last four games.

3. The home team won each of the first three meetings.

PREDICTION: Nuggets 109, Mavericks 103