NBA: Jamal Murray, Nuggets top Mavs as Cooper Flagg exits with ankle injury

Jamal Murray scored 33 points to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 118-109 win over the host Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday.

Aaron Gordon added 22 and Peyton Watson had 18 for the short-handed Nuggets, who made it three straight victories.

Naji Marshall posted 24 points and Brandon Williams added 20 for the Mavericks, who were without Cooper Flagg in the second half after he hurt his left ankle.

Murray, starring again in his second game back in as many days after being absent for two due to an ankle injury and an illness, set the tone with 14 first-quarter points. The Nuggets held a 29-23 cushion after one.

The visitors bolstered their grip on the contest by scoring 13 unanswered points either side of the first-period break.

Flagg limped to the locker room with 6:01 left in the second after hurting his ankle in a collision with Watson.

Flagg subbed back in with 2:35 remaining in the quarter before finishing up at halftime.

Aside from the efficient Marshall, who made all four of his shots, the Mavericks went ice cold in the second frame, missing all nine 3-point attempts and trailing 63-46 at halftime.

Dallas continued to misfire from deep, going 0 of 8 from downtown in the third.

A trey from Denver's Tim Hardaway Jr. made it 84-61 with 4:48 to in the third before the Mavericks finished the period on a 17-4 spree to slash the gap to 10 points.

With Murray sitting out that stretch, Denver struggled. The Nuggets were roughed up on the boards, lost their way defensively and coughed up untimely turnovers.

After Dallas missed 19 consecutive 3-point attempts, Ryan Nembhard broke the spell when he splashed one from range to trim Denver's lead to 88-83 early in the fourth quarter.

Murray soon took control again, piloting a 10-0 rush in the space of 70 seconds as the Nuggets' advantage blew back out to 101-85.

Another strong Murray drive, which followed a Gordon trey, made it 106-88 with 6:40 left before the Mavericks cut the deficit late.

--Field Level Media/Reuters