Mavericks vs Nuggets Final Score 122-106: Monta Scores 14 In Fourth As Mavs Avoid Season Sweep

DALLAS MAVERICKS vs DENVER NUGGETS Recap- March 21

Monta Ellis scored 14 of his game-high 26 points in the final quarter, including two threes, and the Dallas Mavericks used a 13-2 run in a three-minute stretch to pull away for a 122-106 win over the Denver Nuggets at the AAC on March 21.

Dirk Nowitzki added 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting and six rebounds.

After the first quarter, the Mavericks led for much of the remainder of the game. Ty Lawson made it a 109-101 Dallas lead in the fourth quarter before the Mavs scored 13 of the next 15 points to take a 122-103 lead.

Ellis and Dirk led seven players in double figures. Shawn Marion, Jose Calderon, Jae Crowder, Vince Carter and Brandan Wright all joined in on the fun.

Dallas avoided the season sweep with Denver and gets its 42nd win of the season, passing last season’s win total of 41 with 12 games left to play.

J.J. Hickson led five Denver players in double figures with 18 before leaving with an apparent injury. Lawson added 17 and nine dimes.

Milestone Watch: With 12 games left, Dirk has passed the 26,500-scoring mark with 26,510. He’s now 158 away from Dominique Wilkins for 11th all time and 200 away from Oscar Robertson for 10th all time. Dirk is also 11 rebounds away from passing Marcus Camby for 40th all time. Other milestones Dirk can achieve at the end of the season are all-time 3-pointers made, in which he’s eight away from passing former teammate Michael Finley for 23rd all time, and games played. If he plays all 12 remaining games, he’ll jump from 38th to 35th all time. He also can jump to 19th in minutes played. As for Marion, he sits five steals away from tying Magic Johnson for 17th all time.

West Standings

5. Portland Trail Blazers (45-24)

6. Golden State Warriors– 1.5 games back

7. MAVERICKS– 3.5

8. Memphis Grizzlies– 4.5

9. Phoenix Suns– 5

He Learned His Lesson For Now: Dirk only took two 3-point attempts, making one, after missing all seven attempts vs Minnesota on Wednesday. He’s still on the cusp of his second 50-40-90 campaign.

Jose Jose Jose: Calderon shot 2-of-4 from downtown, his eighth straight game in which he has hit at least two treys.

Up Next: Next up for the Mavericks is the Brooklyn Nets on March 23. It will be the fourth game of their eight-game home stand. It will also be their final game vs the Eastern conference.