Dirk Nowitzki hit his fair share of big shots, including a basket to give the Dallas Mavericks a lead late, but Wilson Chandler and the Nuggets rallied for a 102-100 victory Saturday in Denver.
Dirk Nowitzki hit his fair share of big shots, including a basket to give the Dallas Mavericks a lead late, but Wilson Chandler and the Nuggets rallied for a 102-100 victory Saturday in Denver.Joe Mahoney/Associated Press

DENVER – Randy Foye made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1 minute, 11 seconds left, and the Denver Nuggets hung on to beat the Dallas Mavericks 102-100 on Saturday night.

Ty Lawson scored 20 points to lead the Nuggets, who won their fifth in a row at home while ending Dallas’ four-game winning streak. Kenneth Faried had 18 points and 14 rebounds, and Foye finished 17 points.

Dirk Nowitzki had 27 points but missed a shot at the end that would have sent the game into overtime.

Monta Ellis added 25 points, and Vince Carter had 16 for the Mavericks, who were without head coach Rick Carlisle for most of the game after he drew two technical fouls in succession and was ejected by referee Tony Brothers with 5:14 remaining in the second quarter.

The Mavericks trailed by as many as 17 points early in the game and were down 65-53 at the half. But they fought back.

The game remained tight in the final minutes, with the teams alternately taking the lead. Dallas put together a 6-0 run that included consecutive jumpers by Nowitzki that put the Mavs up 100-98 with 2:02 remaining.

That set the stage for Foye’s go-ahead 3-pointer.

Nuggets news

The Nuggets’ Andre Miller registered his 7,988th assist in the NBA on an alley-oop pass that Wilson Chandler converted into a dunk midway through the second quarter, surpassing Rod Strickland for ninth all-time. … Chandler has scored 10 or more points in four of his first six games since returning from a hamstring injury that sidelined him for the first two weeks of the season.