Denver Nuggets crumble in second half, lose to Dallas Mavericks in overtime

The Nuggets lose 122-116 in overtime to the Dallas Mavericks after holding leads of 23 points in the first half and 14 points in the fourth quarter. In addition to the heartbreaking result, Danilo Gallinari was also helped into the locker room in the third quarter after rolling his right ankle, after blocking a David Lee shot in the paint.

Rather than entering their seven-game homestand with the momentum of two solid road wins, the Nuggets will be looking for answers after yet another collapse against the Dallas Mavericks. Emmanuel Mudiay‘s return to the Dallas area was a big story going into the game, but he struggled to just 4 points and 6 assists to go along with 4 turnovers tonight.

When/Where

Friday, February 26, 2016 at American Airlines Center – Dallas, TX

Star of the Game

Gary Harris – It wasn’t a flashy game, but he was easily the most consistent two-way player for the Nuggets tonight. He finished with 17 points on 6-13 shooting, 3-9 from deep (he was 3-6 at one point), 4 rebounds and 2 steals. Harris’ ability to change the game on either end of the floor makes him one of the most important players on the roster right now.

I debated putting Kenneth Faried, DJ Augustin or Will Barton here, but it’s hard to celebrate a player that finishes -20 on the night (Faried), goes 0-7 on 3-point attempts, including two terrible shots to close overtime and regulation (Barton) or a guy that allows Ray Felton of all people to carve up the Nuggets defense in crunch-time (Augustin), so it’s Harris’ gritty play that gets the nod tonight.

Turning Point

The teams traded baskets to open the extra period, but then Wesley Matthews hit a 3-pointer and the Mavs followed that up with a Raymond Felton steal and layup that opened up a three-point lead that would prove to be insurmountable. Somehow, Felton became the most important player on the floor in crunch time and found his way into the lane for layup-after-layup down the stretch.

Hustle and Flow

Concerted effort on controlling the paint and rebounds on the defensive end led to fast break points. The offense went, but getting those fast break points made it easier to weather some poor shooting spells. I wrote this after the Nuggets outstanding first half, but it applies just as well to the Mavericks’ second half and overtime. It’s unclear whether it was a symptom of, or reason for the success in this game, but the team that was putting forth the most effort to grab rebounds seemed to be the team that made the run tonight.

Second Half Swoon

While it wasn’t of the historic proportions of their 3rd quarter collapse in the last outing against Dallas (just five points scored), the Nuggets’ poor play in tonight’s third quarter cost them the game once again. A 23 point first half lead turned into a 15 point halftime lead. The 15 point halftime lead disappeared by the end of regulation thanks to Chandler Parsons‘ outside shooting and Ray Felton’s late-game heroics.

The opportunities were there to put this one away, but as good as this Nuggets team has been at scrapping their way back into games this season, they’ve shown just as much ability to let their opponents scrap their way back in. Hopefully these close games will help the team understand the effort needed to put teams away.

Bench Boost

There were holes in their games, but the Nuggets bench did manage to provide a major boost for the team tonight after the starters led the way in Los Angeles against the Clippers on Wednesday night. The bench managed 58 points tonight, almost entirely on the strength of three players (Barton-22, Augustin-20 and Darrell Arthur-13). Two nights earlier, the bench contributed a total of 22 points, so it’s good to see the reserves picking up the slack on a night when the starters were struggling to make buckets.

Play of the Game

DJ Augustin opened overtime with this pretty alley-oop pass to the Manimal:

Quotes of the Game

“Their heart’s in the right place, but that’s when we need to trust each other.” – Nuggets head coach Michael Malone on late-game execution mistakes.

X Rays on Gallo’s ankle were negative. It is a right ankle sprain and he will not return. #Nuggets

— Chris Dempsey (@dempseypost) February 27, 2016

Lasting Impact

Tonight’s loss means the Nuggets split their miniature two-game road trip. The Nuggets can turn things around during a seven-game home-stand and their last chance to make up some ground in the Western Conference as only two of the visiting teams currently have winning records (Grizzlies and Mavs).

Making this year’s playoffs will be a longshot either way, but this homestand will go a long way towards determining whether there’s any hope left or not. The severity of Danilo Gallinari’s injury could have the biggest impact on the Nuggets success the rest of the way, but it will interesting to see who fills his shoes if he does have to miss some time.

Up Next

Monday, February 29 (Leap Day!) vs. Memphis Grizzlies, 7:00 p.m. MST

The Nuggets take on the Grizzlies on Leap Day in Denver and won’t leave the friendly confines of the Pepsi Center again until traveling to Miami to take on the Heat on March 14th.