The Dallas Mavericks (9-7) showed some backbone in crunch time on Friday, earning a 123-120 victory over the Denver Nuggets (8-6) at Ball Arena. Sure, the Mavericks coughed up a 24-point lead in the process, but they didn’t give up, even without Luka Dončić, who missed the game with a wrist sprain.

Dereck Lively II blocked two big shots in the final two minutes of the game, helping PJ Washington spark a late 9-0 Mavs run to secure the win. Naji Marshall led seven Mavericks in scoring in double figures with 26 points in the win, but Washington was also huge down the stretch, finishing the night with 22 points, 13 rebounds and three steals. Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with 33 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists in the loss.

Here are five statistics that tell the story of what happened in Denver on Friday night.

7-of-9: Quentin Grimes and PJ Washington shootaround begins

Playing without Dončić’s safety net, the score for the Mavericks had to come from somewhere. As they have done a few times this season, the Mavs force-fed Washington in the post early in the first season. He made his first three shot attempts on two post-up chances against smaller Denver defenders and a mid-range banker that gave the Mavs an early 9-3 lead in just two and a half minutes. Quentin Grimes took Dončić’s place in the starting lineup. and promptly hit his first two three-point attempts to apply a little early pressure on Denver’s home floor.

Kyrie Irving saw Grimes streak in transition for an easy dunk that gave Dallas an 18-9 lead with just under seven minutes left in the first. Grimes made his fourth straight attempt to start the game less than two minutes later, a mid-range jumper with a hand in his face that kept the Mavericks ahead, 22-15 at the time.

Grimes led all scorers with 10 points in the first, but Denver took the lead away in the final four minutes of the frame and Dallas led 33-31 after one.

15-2: Mavs’ run late in second quarter

Irving and Naji Marshall sparked a 15-2 Mavericks run as the second quarter came to a close, giving Dallas some breathing room before halftime. Jokic chipped in after rebounding his own miss off Lively to pull the Nuggets within 47-44 midway through the second, but Irving and Marshall combined to score 17 of the game’s next 20 points as the Mavs extended their lead to as many as 19 points. . Irving’s drive through the lane with 2:19 left in the first half gave the Mavericks a 63-46 lead. Marshall kept Dallas’ momentum rolling about a minute later with a tough transition drive through several Denver defenders to give the Mavs a 67-49 lead.

Irving and Marshall each scored 15 in the first half, while Jokic led all scorers with 19 points and pulled down eight rebounds for the Nuggets. The Mavs went away for 40 in the second quarter and led 73-53 at halftime. The second quarter marked the second time Dallas has scored 40 or more in a quarter this season.

13-of-15: Dallas’ first-half shooting in the restricted area

Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images

Any way you look at it, Dallas was dominant inside in the first half. It would be a very repeatable way to win if the Mavs chose to repeat the effort anytime soon. There was a concerted effort from everyone to get to the rim, both in transition and in the half-court attack.

The Mavs shot 13 of 15 in the restricted area in the first half in Denver. They also outscored the Nuggets 44-20 in the paint in the first half. It wasn’t just Lively and Daniel Gafford partying in the middle, either. Seven of Irving’s 12 shot attempts in the first half came at or near the rim. Marshall and Washington got involved and consistently got shots in the lane, if not right at the rim. It was a big part of the reason the Mavericks shot 30 of 49 (61.2%) from the field in the first half.

27-6: Denver’s third-quarter run, sparked by Michael Porter Jr.

Dallas kept Michael Porter Jr. in the first half to just four points on 1-of-4 shooting. Without Aaron Gordon (calf strain) in the lineup, Porter Jr.’s lack of production was a problem. no small part of what Denver brought back in the first half.

He hit a finger roll in the lane and a step back midfield on back-to-back possessions early in the quarter before driving through the teeth of the Dallas defense for a dunk and then hitting a long 3-pointer to next down to pull the Nuggets within 81-69 midway through the third. It all culminated in an excruciating 27-6 Nuggets run that brought Denver all the way back to within six, trailing just 83-77 after Jokic’ slimmed down the lane with 3:29 left in the third. Porter Jr. scored 11 on 5-for-6 shooting (2-for-3 from 3-point range) in the quarter, and the Mavs led 95-89 heading into the fourth.

26: A career-high scoring night for Naji Marshall

Marshall provided the big bucket the Mavericks needed time and time again along the way. He never shied away from the big moment and showed his talent for getting on track and scoring on difficult slopes. He weaved his way through Denver’s defense and finished with a high banker late in the shot clock with 20 seconds to play, giving the Mavs a 119-115 lead. That basket also gave Marshall another career-high scoring night with 26 points on 11-of-15 shooting.

He wasn’t just a threat either. After missing his last 14 three-point attempts in the game, Marshall hit 3-of-4 from distance in the win over the Nuggets. The Dallas bench outscored the Denver bench 57-24 behind Marshall’s 26 in the win.

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