Luka Doncic has 38 as Mavericks top Nuggets in OT
Jan 7, 2021; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets forward JaMychal Green (0) drives to the net against Dallas Mavericks forward Maxi Kleber (42) and center Boban Marjanovic (51) in the fourth quarter at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Luka Doncic had 38 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds, Josh Richardson scored five of his 14 points in overtime, and the visiting Dallas Mavericks defeated the Denver Nuggets 124-117 on Thursday night.
Dorian Finney-Smith also had 14 points for Dallas, while Boban Marjanovic added 12 points and Tim Hardaway Jr. had 11 points.
Nikola Jokic had 38 points and 11 rebounds for the Nuggets, while Jamal Murray had 21 points and nine assists, Gary Harris scored 15 points, Monte Morris added 11 and JaMychal Green scored 10.
Will Barton gave the Nuggets a 112-109 lead 15 seconds overtime with a 3-pointer, but the Mavericks took over from there.
The game was tied at 114 when Richardson hit a short jumper in the lane and then drained a 3-pointer with 1:25 remaining. Denver missed on the other end, Willy Cauley-Stein split a pair of free throws with a minute to play and Jokic hit a 3-pointer as Dallas led 120-117 with 52.2 seconds remaining.
Doncic closed it out with four straight points to give Dallas its second straight victory.
Dallas’ James Johnson opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer to give the Mavericks their first lead since late in the first quarter at 79-78, and then put Dallas ahead 83-82 with a mid-range jumper two minutes into the period.
Two free throws by PJ Dozier, a tip-in by Green and Jokic’s banked hook shot gave the Nuggets an 88-86 lead with 8:40 remaining.
Marjanovic tied it with a dunk on Doncic’s 10th assist of the night but layups by Harris and Jokic gave Denver a 96-92 lead with 5:35 to play. The Mavericks scored seven straight points, the last three on a long jumper Maxi Kleber, to take a 101-97 lead with 3:55 remaining.
After a timeout, Jokic hit a foul-line jumper and a long 3-pointer to give the Nuggets the lead again at 102-101 with just over three minutes remaining. Kleber hit another 3-pointer, Jokic and Doncic traded jumpers and Murray tied it at 106 on a 19-foot jumper with 1:59 on the clock.
The teams traded misses and Jokic split a pair of free throws, making it 107-106, and Kleber’s third 3-pointer of the fourth quarter put Dallas up two with 2.4 seconds left. Jokic answered at the horn to send it to overtime.
