Dallas Mavericks defeat the Denver Nuggets at Mile High

At 15-11 for the season, the Dallas Mavericks are a bit off their mark. Sure, it hasn't been the brightest start for the NBA defending champions but so far, these guys have proved that maybe, if they can get Dirk Nowitzki to get back on track, the Mavericks could actually have a real chance of defending their title. Nowitzki was a key player against the Denver Nuggets, finishing the night with 25 points and helping the Mavericks put an end to a three-game skid. Sure enough the Denver Nuggets were playing under the weather and they were struggling with injuries. But that didn't keep the Mavericks from defeating the Denver Nuggets 105-95 on Wednesday night. Just to get the record straight, this was actually Dallas' first victory in five tries against the Nuggets.

Dirko recognized the huge roll he had on this win. But he also knew that there were plenty other Mavs chipping in. For starters, Vince Carter got out of the most recent slump and finished the game with 17 points, while Shawn Marion and Rodrigue Beaubois added 13 points each for the Mavericks. This is actually the first time the Maveriskc beat the Denver Nuggets since a close 102-101 win on Nov. 3 2010. Dirk Nowitzki went on to acknowledge how much his team needed to take home a victory "A win. A much needed win," Nowitzki said in the postgame conference. "We worked hard the last three games in our preparation, trying to keep them out of the lane, trying not to let them get into transition. I liked some of the stuff that we did. We rebounded the ball well. We outrebounded them (46-38) on the road, and that is definitely a plus when we do that."

The Nuggets are still trying to find a way to get their game straight despite the many injuries that have hurt many of their key-players. Rudy Fernandez and Al Harrington each had 17 points coming from the bench to lead the Denver Nuggets who despite their effort and playing at home, couldn't help it but to lose their fourth straight. Nene came in with 16 points and 10 rebounds and Ty Lawson had 16 points along with 10 assists for Denver. Sure enough, the Denver Nuggets were playing once again with Arron Afflalo and Nene. Both players had missed their previous game with a left ankle and left heel injury respectively. Still, even thought these two players were back in the field, the Denver Broncos had to play without leading scorer Danilo Gallinari (who's struggling with an injury in his left ankle), along with Timofey Mozgov (same injury as Gallinary). As if that was not enough, tragedy pushed Corey Brewer to take a leave of absence to be with his family this week following the death of his father.

Sure enough, the Dallas Mavericks were playing without Jason Kid, who has missed 6 games this season because of a strained right calf. Still, there is really no comparison about how outnumbered the Nuggets were. "This game was about our approach and attitude," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "One of the big challenges tonight was to sustain our first half effort and we did that. The second half was terrific and a lot of guys contributed."