DALLAS — In a make-or-miss league, the Nuggets missed too much and the Mavericks made the last two shots.
Luka Doncic tied it with a 3-pointer with 24 seconds remaining, and Kyrie Irving buried a long two over Nikola Jokic’s contest at the buzzer to hand Denver a 107-105 loss Sunday afternoon.
The Nuggets (47-21) had erased a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter and briefly led when Jamal Murray drained a three with 26 seconds left. He missed a jumper from the elbow that set up the Mavericks’ last-shot opportunity with 2.8 seconds to go.
Sitting in the front row of American Airlines Center next to ABC’s broadcast table was Texas Tech alum Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs quarterback who, the narrative goes, shouldn’t have been given the second chance to score in Super Bowl overtime.
The defending NFL champion had a close-up view as the defending NBA champions gave up a mountain of second chances. Dallas won 21-6 on the offensive glass and outscored Denver 23-6 on second chances as the Nuggets fell a half-game behind Oklahoma City for the Western Conference lead with 14 games to go.
Two minutes into the fourth quarter as the Nuggets were trying to conjure more second-unit magic, Luka Doncic clanked a 3-pointer but chased down his own rebound in mid-air behind the baseline, chucking it off an unsuspecting opponent then out of bounds. Dallas missed two more shots during the possession before finally scoring a fourth-chance put-back. Nuggets coach Michael Malone responded with a rage timeout, shouting at his team to get a (bleeping) rebound. The deficit was 88-79.
Five Mavericks players had three or more offensive boards. Doncic scored 37 points on 27 shots.
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Michael Porter Jr. buoyed the Nuggets for most of the day with 20 points, seven rebounds, a pair of steals and a pair of blocks. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray had rare coinciding duds, especially from a shot-making standpoint. They combined for 39 points on 13 of 26 shooting from the field.
They were 4-for-18 for 17 points at halftime — Jokic had two made shots at three turnovers — but Denver led 61-58 anyway. Not a team that usually excels by getting to the foul line, the Nuggets attempted 18 free throws in the half, nearly reaching their per-game average (19.9) for the season.
They only attempted four more free throws in the second half.
In a game of playoff-caliber physicality, especially from the Mavericks’ post defenders, Malone made a point to stand up for Jokic late in the first quarter by parading across the floor to earn a technical foul right in front of Dirk Nowitzki’s court-side seats. Reggie Jackson was handed a matching technical. Throughout the second, the pendulum swung, and Dallas grew increasingly frustrated with calls. Derek Lively II got his third foul before halftime.
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