The Nuggets are locking down on defense during crucial moments like no other team in the NBA

Four nuggets for the number of baskets Denver held Dallas to in the fourth quarter of its 100-99 win Thursday.

1. For the first time in years, the Nuggets are playing competent defense. They emerged from their come-from-behind win over the Mavericks 11th in points allowed per 100 possessions. If the season ended today, that would be their highest finish in that category in 10 years.

There’s a rhythm to the way the Nuggets get stops, too. To start games, they usually look unfocused, a step slow. In the second quarter, they typically lock down a little bit. Most third quarters, they’re good. And in the final 12 minutes of games? Well, you should check out these splits…

• 1st quarter: 113.7 points allowed per 100 possessions (25th)
• 2nd quarter: 110.4 points allowed per 100 possessions (17th)
• 3rd quarter: 107.4 points allowed per 100 possessions (7th)
• 4th quarter: 100.9 points allowed per 100 possessions (1st)

The Nuggets get better on the defensive end as games go on. They’re the stingiest fourth-quarter defensive team in basketball this season by a significant margin. That was the case again Thursday as Denver limited Dallas to 10 points in the final 12 minutes of play.

Why is there such a dramatic uptick in getting stops late? It’s simple, according to Will Barton: “We know it’s winning time, and that’s when you’ve really got to lock in and get stops.”

Locking up late was imperative for the Nuggets if they wanted to avoid an embarrassing loss. Going into the fourth quarter, they trailed by 10 points to a Mavericks team that was 6-27 on the road.

“That was our whole conversation in every timeout,” Monte Morris said. “I was telling guys to get into them and try to blow up stuff. Early on, we was just letting them come off. Luka (Doncic) wasn’t feeling us. He was coming off and making some incredible passes. But we turned up our intensity. They had a couple shot clock violations. They shot some air balls too. We just turned it up on defense.”

Denver limited Dallas to 4-of-19 shooting in the fourth and 2-of-11 shooting in the final five minutes. Rookie of the Year frontrunner Luka Doncic was the only Maverick to convert a field goal in the final quarter. Doncic scored eight of his 24 points in the fourth, but he also committed a pair of turnovers in that time as well.

The Nuggets only made one defensive gaffe late, but it nearly cost them the game. Gary Harris and Mason Plumlee botched a switch with less than 10 seconds to go, which allowed Doncic to knife to the rim for a dunk.

Luckily for Denver, Doncic missed the free throw on the and-1, and Nikola Jokic flipped in a game winner on its ensuing possession. Jokic’s awkward hook shot was the difference, but the Nuggets wouldn’t have been in that position without clamping down in the fourth quarter like they have all season.

“It all comes down to just wanting to win,” Paul Millsap said. “That’s what it is. Just being persistent about winning and wanting to get the job done.”

2. Last month, Nuggets coach Michael Malone joked that his 34-year-old starting power forward discovered the fountain of youth during a vacation out east during All-Star weekend. Whatever Millsap did to rejuvenate is paying off. Here are his numbers in the last 10 games: 16.7 ppg (53.4 percent FG, 40.0 percent 3), 8.7 rpg, 1.7 spg and 0.9 bpg. He’s also averaging 31.2 minutes in that time, tops on the team.

Millsap played one his best games in a Nuggets uniform Thursday, scoring a season-high 33 points on 14-of-19 shooting. He scored Denver’s first eight points, keeping his team afloat on a night when his fellow starters had trouble getting shots to go down. Hooks, turnarounds, dunks — Millsap scored in a variety of ways around the cup.

The playoffs are about a month away. Millsap, Plumlee and Isaiah Thomas are the only players on the roster who have meaningful postseason experience. It’s good to see Millsap playing some of his best basketball as a Nugget just as the real season is about to start.

3. So often, Jokic’s brilliance is cloaked in nonchalance. Take his game winner. The degree of difficulty on his contested, falling away hook shot from 9 feet away was a 10. Look at the angle Dwight Powell forced him to launch from.

Somehow, Jokic got it to go. Nothing but net, too. Yet his celebration was relatively muted. As his teammates mobbed him, Jokic looked like a man trying to figure out what dress pants — the black ones or the tan ones? — he was going to wear that day.

“I told him he really wanted to miss the shot, but he’s so good, he made it,” Barton said. “That’s what he does, man. Big-time players, even if they have an off night or are not scoring as much as they usually do, if it’s a close game, you still want them to have the ball in their hands and be aggressive and makes plays.”

Malone drew the play up for Jokic even though he was not in a great rhythm. Jokic didn’t even convert a field goal until midway through the fourth quarter. Nine of his 11 points came in the final 6:29 of play. He looked like he was moving at half speed through the first three quarters, which Malone acknowledged was related to fatigue.

“Nikola is tired, man,” Malone said. “He’s been carrying this team all season. … Nikola is an MVP candidate in my opinion, and he’s wearing the weight of that in terms of the games and us going to him and the mental fatigue as well.”

The debate about which Nugget would develop into the No. 1 option late in close games has been settled. Jokic has 91 points in “clutch” situations (last five minutes of a game, score within five). He is shooting 50 percent in those circumstances. Jamal Murray is the next closest with 61 clutch points.

“Heavy is the head,” Malone said. “To much is given, much is expected. And we expect a lot of Nikola. And he delivers 99 out of 100 nights at a high level.”

4. Thursday marked the second game since Malone pared down his rotation. Only eight guys got double-digit minutes, and only nine checked into the game at all. Isaiah Thomas was a DNP-CD for the second game in a row. Trey Lyles, who was available to play for the first time nearly a month ago, also didn’t play.

Malone admitted Jokic is already feeling fatigued. That could become a concern for more of his players the longer he goes with an eight-and-a-half man rotation. There are 15 games to go. Can Denver player this few guys the rest of the way?