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Mavericks cruise at home over Nuggets

Feb 16, 2012 - 6:43 AM Dallas, TX (Sports Network) - Shawn Marion had 16 points and 10 rebounds and the Dallas Mavericks led by as many as 31 on the way to a 102-84 win over the banged-up and weary Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night.

Vince Carter chipped in 15 points, Lamar Odom had 14 off the bench and Dirk Nowitzki scored 12 in 24 minutes as the Mavericks easily won their fifth game in a row.

Rudy Fernandez scored 14 off the bench to lead the Nuggets, who had a two-game winning streak snapped. Fellow reserve Al Harrington added 13 points and Kosta Koufos scored 12 with 14 rebounds.

The Nuggets arrived late in Dallas after beating Phoenix at home Tuesday night and are still playing without leading scorer Danilo Gallinari, as well as injured bigs Nene and Timofey Mozgov.

"I thought they were obviously a little flat," said Nowitzki. "They're down a couple of people and they got here around 4 or 5 last night. We talked about that and wanted to be aggressive."

Still, Harrington struggled to explain the lopsided game.

"I don't know. They just made shots, and we struggled offensively," he said. "We let it affect our defense, so we've just got to move on and get the (next) game in Memphis."

The Mavericks shot better than 46 percent -- and almost 50 percent through the first three quarters to carry an 83-54 lead into the fourth -- to finish off a 3-0 homestand.

But the news wasn't all good. Reserve guard Delonte West left the game in the second quarter with an injured right finger and didn't return.

The Mavericks, after taking a 27-17 lead into the second, used a 12-1 run to take control of the game. Carter's three-pointer sparked the burst, Brandan Wright had back-to-back dunks and Dallas built a 49-33 lead.

It was 51-39 at halftime and ballooned to 31 near the end of the third quarter mostly on the back of an 11-1 run that ended in Odom's jumper.

"When the score swings by 17 points you're going to be down by a huge deficit going into the fourth," said Harrington, "one that you know you can't make up."

The Mavs rested every starter but Carter in the fourth quarter on the way to the easy win.

Game Notes

Dallas beat Denver 105-95 on February 8 to snap a four-game losing streak in the series...The Nuggets started a three-game road trip that continues Friday in Memphis.