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Nuggets go for fifth straight win vs. Mavs

Jan 14, 2015 - 2:49 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Denver Nuggets will put their four-game winning streak on the line Wednesday night when they begin a home-and-home set with the Dallas Mavericks at the Pepsi Center.

These two teams will tangle Friday night in Big D.

The Nuggets haven't lost since New Year's Day when they fell on the road to the Chicago Bulls. During this run, Denver has won two as the visitor and two as the host.

On Friday, the Nuggets toppled the Kings in Sacramento, 118-108.

Ty Lawson scored 14 of his 22 points during a dominant third quarter. Denver outscored Sacramento by a 36-15 margin in the third, then cruised to victory in the fourth.

Arron Afflalo added 22 points for the Nuggets, who have won four in a row. Jusuf Nurkic and J.J. Hickson each had 16 points, with Nurkic also pulling down eight boards and blocking three shots.

"Defensive intensity allowed us to get easy baskets," Afflalo said.

The Nuggets shot 55.3 percent from the field, while holding the Kings under 50 percent.

Despite their winning ways, the Nuggets are a team in transition. They traded starting center Timofey Mozgov to the Cleveland Cavaliers for two first-round picks, and, on Tuesday, sent backup guard Nate Robinson to the Boston Celtics for another backup guard, Jameer Nelson. Nelson is not expected in uniform on Wednesday.

The Mavs will try to make this a winning road trip. They started with a 20- point drubbing to the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday, but rebounded with a 108-104 overtime win Tuesday against the Kings.

Monta Ellis had 28 points, 10 assists and four steals to lead the Mavs.

Tyson Chandler posted 16 points and 17 rebounds, while Rajon Rondo added 21 points, seven helpers and four swipes for Dallas, which snapped a brief two- game losing streak on the heels of a six-game winning stretch.

"We showed a lot of resilience down the stretch," Chandler said.

The Mavs closed regulation on a 14-4 run and when Sacramento's DeMarcus Cousins fouled out with under 30 seconds to go, they were able to capitalize in overtime.

Rondo nailed a right wing triple with the shot clock running down with 1:14 remaining in overtime to stake the Mavs to a 104-102 advantage. Jason Thompson was fouled on a rebound with 51.2 ticks left, but split the pair of bonus shots.

Dirk Nowitzki missed a jumper at the other end, but Chandler Parsons snatched the offensive rebound and Ellis made two foul shots with 8.7 seconds to play. Dallas elected to foul Darren Collison, who sunk 1-of-2 from the charity stripe and two Ellis free throws with 5.7 ticks remaining sealed the outcome.

The Nuggets took three of four meetings last season against the Mavs and have won five of the last seven. Denver has won three in a row as the host over Dallas.