Nuggets polish off Mavericks

LOS ANGELES: Nikola Jokic made a clutch go-ahead layup with eight seconds left and finished with 33 points as the Denver Nuggets outduelled Luka Doncic’s Dallas Mavericks 107-106 on Wednesday.

Jokic also had seven assists while American Jerami Grant scored 15 points and Canada’s Jamal Murray chip­p­ed in 14 in the matchup of two of the top young teams in the NBA’s Western Conference.

Slovenia’s Doncic flirted with a triple double, finishing with 27 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds. Dwight Powell, of Canada, scored 16, Tim Hardaway added 15, Seth Curry 14 and German forward Maxi Kleber had 13 for the Mavericks.

Dorian Finney-Smith nailed a three pointer and Hardaway hit a basket to give Dallas a 106-101 lead late in the fourth. Jokic then made a shot in the lane and Grant drained two free throws to make it 106-105 with 87 seconds remaining.

Denver got the ball back with 23 seconds left. Jokic drove for a layup with eight seconds left. The Mavericks called a timeout, but the Nuggets trapped Doncic to force him to pass, and the defence prevented Dallas from getting a shot off before the final buzzer.