Mavericks vs Nuggets Final Score: Dallas shocks Denver, 107-105
The Dallas Mavericks shocked the Denver Nuggets on Sunday afternoon, winning on the back of a Kyrie Irving buzzer-beating left-handed skyhook, 107-105. Luka Doncic led Dallas with 37 points and nine rebounds, while Kyrie scored 24, dished out nine assists, and grabbed seven rebounds. Jamal Murray led Denver with 23 points.
Luka and Irving went to work early, scoring or assisting on the first 10 points of the game, forcing an early Denver timeout. Denver stormed right back, pushing right through flimsy perimeter defense and forcing the issue at the free throw line. The Mavericks went cold after a hot start and coach Jason Kidd had to call a timeout after an easy Jokic lay-in pushed the Denver lead to four. Dallas found some offense out of the timeout but couldn’t stop the Nuggets offense. Denver coach Michael Malone picked up a technical towards the end of the quarter, arguing in defense of Jokic. The Mavericks managed to hang around, trailing the Nuggets 34-30 after one period.
Dallas quickly took the lead to start the second only for the Nuggets to rally right back. Luka Doncic found his three-ball mid-quarter, hitting two on back-to-back possessions after missing his previous four. The squads traded baskets much of the frame, with Dante Exum resuming his role as bench sparkplug in a beneficial way for Dallas. But Denver squeaked head before the half, taking a 61-58 lead after two periods.
The Nuggets pressed ahead in the third, with the threat of Jokic causing the Mavericks continued problems at the rim and in space. After the Nuggets took a 70-65 lead on a transition three, Dallas called a timeout to settle the team down. The Mavericks responded with a 9-0 run with buckets from four different Mavericks. Dallas closed the quarter in spectacular fashion, with some strong defense from the entire unit and great shot-making from Kyrie Irving. Dallas took an 84-79 lead into the final frame.
The Dallas defense kept apace to start the fourth and the offensive rebounding from the Mavericks started to take a toll on the Nuggets. Denver called an angry timeout following a Gafford putback, with Michael Malone imploring his team to grab a rebound. Denver pulled back within six points on two occasions only for the Mavericks to respond with big shots. Dallas looked to be running away with the game, leading by as many as 13 before back-to-back Nuggets threes made it a game again. Kidd opted for a defensive line up that scored just four points in the final six-plus minutes of the game as Denver slowly worked back in the game, then took the lead on a Murray three with 27 seconds left. Luka wasn’t done yet though, drilling a three to tie the game. Dallas ended up with the last play of the game with Kyrie Irving hitting the walk-off left-handed sky hook to win the game! Dallas wins 107-105.
