DALLAS (AP) — Kyrie Irving fired a left-handed shot at the buzzer, capping a wild final 26 seconds and giving the Dallas Mavericks a 107-105 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday.
The Nuggets rallied from 13 points down midway through the fourth quarter and took the lead on Jamal Murray’s tiebreaker 3-pointer with 26 seconds left.
Luka Doncic responded almost immediately on the inside pass after a timeout, hitting from several yards behind the arc for a 105-105 tie.
After Murray missed an elbow in the final seconds, Dallas called a timeout. The right-handed Irving took the inside pass, dribbled with his left hand as Nikola Jokic chased and hit the shot from about 20 feet away.
Denver had a five-game road winning streak halted. The Nuggets had won all five games by double digits, a first in franchise history.
Doncic scored 37 points and Irving 24 as the Mavericks (39-29) won for the fifth time in six games, snapping a 1-5 streak.
Dallas tied with Phoenix in a virtual three-way tie with Sacramento for the sixth and final guaranteed playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Murray scored 23 points, while the Mavs frustrated Jokic in a 6-of-16 shooting day. Jokic had 16 points and 11 rebounds.
FOLLOWING
Nuggets: At Minnesota on Tuesday.
Mavericks: At San Antonio on Tuesday.
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