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Billups finishes strong as Denver downs Dallas

Nov 7, 2010 - 3:39 AM Dallas, TX (Sports Network) - Chauncey Billups scored eight of his 18 points in Denver's dominant fourth quarter, which the Nuggets used to take a 103-92 win over the Dallas Mavericks.

Carmelo Anthony had a game-high 27 points, but scored just two of them in the fourth quarter, in which Denver outscored Dallas by a 24-13 margin. Ty Lawson added eight of his 10 points in the final period.

Al Harrington ended with 14 points and eight rebounds for the Nuggets, who have won two in a row since losing to Dallas at home on Wednesday.

"We were getting a lot of steals in the game, getting the ball a lot, collapsing on the ball better than we've probably done all year," Denver head coach George Karl said of his team, which had 16 steals. "It's a good win, a good pride win. Guys bounced back, guys found their energy, found the pride to come back against a really good team that beat us a couple nights ago."

Jason Terry and Dirk Nowitzki finished with 26 and 23 points, respectively, to pace the Mavericks, who were dealt their second loss of the season.

"The majority of the game, particularly in the fourth quarter...we just didn't play well enough tonight," said Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle. "We all own this loss, I own this just as much as anybody."

The game was tied nearly two minutes into the fourth quarter when Lawson drilled a three. Several minutes later, Billups connected from beyond the arc for an 87-81 advantage.

The Nuggets didn't pull away immediately, as Shawn Marion's layup with 6:31 on the clock had Dallas within 91-85. But the Mavericks' hopes were given a big blow when Denver scored the next seven points.

Lawson drove for a layup, and after Nowitzki missed a three, Billups again drained a long-distance shot. A Dallas turnover led to two Billups free throws, which made it a 98-85 game with 5:07 left, and the Mavericks never recovered.

Terry netted 14 points during the first quarter while Nowitzki had nine. Meanwhile, Denver used a balanced attack and made 11-of-20 shots to take a 26-24 lead.

The Nuggets expanded their lead to 10 several times during the second quarter, including when Harrington's layup made it a 43-33 game with 6:41 left. Denver continued to play in front, but Dallas scored the final five points of the half. Terry's three-pointer got the Mavs within 53-52 at the break.

The game was tied, 79-79, after a back-and-forth third quarter.

Game Notes

Caron Butler finished with 13 points and 10 boards for Dallas, while Marion had 12 and nine...Denver's J.R. Smith had 11 points, six boards, five assists and five steals...The Nuggets continue their three-game road trip Monday at Chicago.