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Mavs invade Denver in search of 11th straight win

Feb 10, 2011 - 3:58 PM (Sports Network) - The Dallas Mavericks are proving that they don't need superstar Dirk Nowitzki to score big every night and hope to resume that trend Thursday, as they shoot for an 11th straight win in the continuation of a three-game road trip against the Denver Nuggets.

Nowitzki has scored a total of 22 points in the last two games after averaging 26.7 points over the previous four. He netted 10 points on 4-of-14 shooting in a 102-100 victory last night in Sacramento, helping Dallas to its 10th consecutive victory and a 12-2 mark when he scores less than 20 points in a game this season.

Jason Terry led the Mavs with 22 points and Jose Barea posted 20, while Jason Kidd finished with 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists for Dallas, which kicked off the road trip in positive fashion and has won five in a row away from Big D. Kidd spoke highly of Barea's play postgame.

"No matter how many minutes he plays, he plays hard," Kidd said. "He works hard and you can see the hard work paying off."

The Mavericks have averaged 103.0 points per game during their 10-game winning streak, currently the longest active win streak in the NBA, and are 17-7 as the visitor this season. They have scored at least 100 points in eight of their last nine games and own a 26-1 record when reaching the century mark.

Dallas will close out the trip against rival Houston on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Nuggets have dropped two straight and five of seven games, including Wednesday's 116-114 loss in Golden State. Monta Ellis sparked the Warriors with 37 points and buried a clutch three late in the game.

Carmelo Anthony, the subject of trade rumors for most of the season, scored 29 points and Nene shook off an illness to notch 17 for the Nuggets, who committed 18 turnovers for 26 Golden State points and played without top guard Chauncey Billups because of a strained left knee. Billups could miss another game tonight and is listed as questionable.

Al Harrington scored 18 points in defeat. Anthony is averaging 32.0 points over the last six games for a Denver squad that leads the NBA in scoring with 107.7 ppg. The Nuggets are posting 112.0 ppg in the last 17 contests and own a 21-7 ledger in the Rocky Mountains this season.

The 2010-11 series between the Nuggets and Mavericks is tied at a game apiece, with each club prevailing as the guest. Denver has won seven of 10 meetings between the two Western Conference powerhouses.