Dallas hands Denver first loss of the season

A throwback night from Paul Millsap wasn’t enough to keep the Nuggets’ perfect record intact.

Millsap buoyed a fourth-quarter charge, cutting the Dallas Mavericks’ lead to one late, but the Nuggets failed to capitalize on their first back-to-back of the season. The Mavericks escaped with a 109-106 win, dropping Denver’s record to 3-1.

Dallas sensation Luka Doncic fought through a crowd for a tough layup with under a minute left to put the Mavericks up three. A costly turnover on the ensuing possession from Nikola Jokic hindered their comeback attempt, and one final errant 3pointer from Jamal Murray sealed the loss.

The Nuggets squandered Millsap’s 23-point, 8-rebound night as they let nine different Mavericks players reach double figures. None had more than 14.

Jokic landed his second tripledouble of the season with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, but he hardly dominated.

The Nuggets trailed 103-94 with just over six minutes remaining before they started hacking into Dallas’ lead.

Millsap drained one of his four 3-pointers and he elevated for an electric put-back dunk that further cut the deficit. Will Barton had 19 points and 11 rebounds in his best effort of the season.

The Nuggets momentarily broke it open in the third quarter as Murray asserted himself offensively.

Though he only had one assist, Murray scored 8 of his 16 in the third quarter on an array of driving, difficult looks. Denver was up nine on several occasions, but the Mavericks clawed back with a 3-point barrage. The Nuggets held an 88-83 lead heading into the fourth.

Millsap and Gary Harris earned the lion’s share of credit for largely bottling up Dallas’ star tandem of Kristaps Porzingis and Doncic. Both were physical and made things uncomfortable for the respective stars. Together, they were a combined for 22 points on 7 for 26 from the field.

Instead, it was the Mavs’ cadre of role players who kept threatening the Nuggets’ undefeated record.