Denver Nuggets Final Score: Arron Afflalo Hits Game-Winner At Buzzer; Nuggets Win, 121-120, Over Mavericks

Arron Afflalo played hero in last night's Nuggets victory over the Dallas Mavericks. He hit the game-winning shot as time expired:

With 11 seconds left on the clock and the score in favor of the Mavericks at 120-119, Chauncey Billups is at half court, looking for a play. He drives to his right but runs into a wall of Dallas defenders. He pivots around and makes his way to the inside of the three-point line, finding Arron Afflalo open on the wing. After a little move around his defender, Afflalo takes a 19-foot shot with 1.5 seconds left in the game and sinks it. Nuggets win, 121-120!

Afflalo scored 19 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, but he wasn't the only player to come through big time in the game. Carmelo Anthony scored 42 points and dominated the third quarter. Chauncey Billups finished with 30 points and nine assists, scoring 18 of his points in the first quarter. Afflalo, Billups and Melo combined to go 14-of-26 from beyond the arc.

Arron Afflalo led the Denver Nuggets to 121-120 victory over the Dallas Mavericks with 19 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter and the buzzer-beater shot for the win. Down by as many as 13 points in the fourth quarter, Afflalo and Carmelo Anthony were hitting their shots, especially key three-pointers.

Tied at 119 with 33 seconds left, Anthony fouled out of the game with 19 seconds left. Dirk Nowitzki went to the free throw line and missed his first shot. He made the second one to put the score at 120-119, which set up the Nuggets for one last shot. Chauncey Billups wound up passing to Afflalo, who made the 19-foot jump shot with only a few ticks left on the clock. Sinking the shot, Afflalo brought the Mavericks' 10-game winning streak to an end.

Anthony finished with 42 points and seven rebounds. He was 17 of 25 from the field and 5 of 7 from beyond the arc. Chauncey Billups, who had 18 points in the first quarter, sank five 3-pointers and finished with 30 points. With those three accounting for 96 of the team's points, Nene, Kenyon Martin and the bench combined for 25 points.

The Mavericks spread their scoring out a bit, with Tyson Chandler leading the way with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Off the bench, Jason Terry had a team-high 25 points.

The Nuggets (31-23, 22-7 home) head east to play the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday at 4:00 p.m. MT.

After one quarter of play, the Denver Nuggets held a 33-19 lead over the Dallas Mavericks, but at halftime their lead was reduced to one point, 59-58. The Mavs outscored the Nuggets 39-26 in the second quarter.

Chauncey Billups had 18 points in the first quarter, but added only four more points for 22 total. Additionally, he has dished out the ball five times, pulled down four boards and made three steals. Carmelo Anthony scored 11 of his 17 points in the second quarter. Nene, who has recently been the subject of trade rumors scored six points and grabbed five boards. Ty Lawson and Chris Andersen combined to score seven points off the bench.

For the Mavericks, Tyson Chandler leads his team's starters with 12 points and five rebounds. The bench has scored 33 of the team's 58 points. Point guard Jose Juan Barea has 12 of those 33 points.

Both teams are shooting at least 50 percent from the field, but do the Mavericks have momentum in their favor? Twenty-four minutes left to play. . . .

The Denver Nuggets got off to a fast start against the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night. Point guard Chauncey Billups returned to the starting lineup and scored 18 first-quarter points to give the Nuggets a 33-19 lead. Billups has three assists, two rebounds and two steals as well. Twelve of his 18 points have come on three-point shots. Carmelo Anthony is the next closest with six points.

Tyson Chandler is the leading scorer for the Mavericks with eight points, while Dirk Nowitzki has only four points. Jason Kidd had three points and is 1-of-5 for shooting so far.