Full-strength Nuggets pull big comeback on shorthanded Mavericks

Aaron Gordon returned to the lineup and the Denver Nuggets needed every bit of their stud power forward to pull a 19-point comeback 112-101 win over the shorthanded Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.

It was the Nuggets 11th comeback from down 10 or more points to win, which is the most in the NBA, with eight of those coming on the road. Denver’s huge fourth quarter was the sixth-best outscoring final period in franchise history.

“I don’t like the fact that we’ve been down that many times double figures,” Micheal Malone said postgame. “What I love about this group is how resilient they are. We get down. We stay the course. There is no panic. There is none whatsoever. We just stay the course. We find a way. We try different guys. We find something that works.”

Without both Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving the Mavs crushed the Nuggets in the first quarter but Denver responded by tallying 41 points in the second quarter to make it close at halftime. But a 22-5 run by the home team pulled them ahead by 19 midway through the third at 87-69. Down but not out, the Nuggets rallied 10-2 to finish the third despite missing all 10 triples that period. To start the fourth, the Nuggets stayed hot, riding a 12-2 spurt to tie the game at 91. Jamal Murray, who struggled most of the game, gave Denver a fourth-quarter lead on a three-point play. The Nuggets then sped through crunch time to finish off the Mavs thanks to a 33-12 crushing in the fourth quarter.

Murray was a minus-29 before the Nuggets run, finishing at minus-five as he was a huge part of Denver’s late-game efforts. He totaled 17 points but took a backseat to Nikola Jokic who dominated the smaller Mavs to the tune of 19 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists. Russell Westbrook had a team-best 21 points with 10 rebounds and seven assists.

“He’s not 100% healthy, I thought about shutting him down at halftime. I know that’s not the Jamal that is healthy,” Malone said. ” That’s not him. It was good to see him get going. I can help him by trying to run plays. He’s got the biggest, strongest guy on him every night. We gotta get him healthy and get him rest and we gotta support him because this team will go nowhere if we don’t get the Jamal Murray we know he’s capable of being.”

Gordon came off the bench in his first game back for the Nuggets since leaving the Christmas game with a calf injury. AG has missed about half the season with multiple lumps to his lower legs. He logged 13 points, six rebounds and two assists in 18 minutes of action, going plus-23. Next to him off the bench was another great performance from Peyton Watson, who as a team-best plus 30, tallying 10 points and six boards.

Gordon’s addition made a noticeable difference on the glass, as the Nuggets surrendered just eight offensive rebounds and were a huge plus-18 snagging boards. Both Murray and Jokic were on the injury report before the game, Murray left the last contest with a knee issue while Jokic missed two games earlier this week with an illness.

The Nuggets (23-15) rematch the Mavs in Dallas on Tuesday night on TNT in a baseball-style set. With the two teams bunched up in the standings, these games could be pivotal for tiebreakers towards the season’s end. Both Doncic and Irving are likely to miss the next game as well.