After winning back-to-back games against struggling Eastern Conference teams without Carmelo Anthony, the Denver Nuggets hope to get their two-time All-Star back as they visit one of the best teams in the Western Conference on Sunday.

The Northwest Division-leading Nuggets hope Anthony can help Denver win consecutive games over the Dallas Mavericks in the same season for the first time in more than a dozen years.

Anthony sprained his right ankle in Monday's 116-99 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, but the Nuggets (26-16) have managed to rally behind Allen Iverson and a strong supporting cast.

Iverson led Denver with 30 points in Friday's 100-85 win over New Jersey, and had 29 in Wednesday's 107-100 win over Atlanta.

Linas Kleiza, who is averaging 12.0 points, started the last two games for Anthony, and scored 23 points in each contest.

"We've got so many guys banged up and we really needed a game like this,'' said Iverson, who was named an All-Star game starter for the West on Thursday. "You just have to have guys suck it up.''

Anthony, who was also named an All-Star starter, had 13 points in 14 minutes before leaving Monday's game. In the five games before his injury, Anthony was averaging 30.4 points - 4.9 points better than his season average.

He had 23 points and six rebounds in the Nuggets' 122-109 win over the Mavericks at American Airlines Center on Dec. 6, while Iverson had 35 points on 12-of-19 shooting and 12 assists.

The Nuggets entered this season winning just 10 of their previous 44 games against the Mavericks, and have not won consecutive games over them in a single season since Nov. 24 and Dec. 26, 1995.

Denver's victory at American Airlines Center was just its second in its last 20 games in Dallas (29-13).

The Nuggets have had little luck on the road lately, where they are getting outscored by an average of 13.2 points during a season-high four-game road losing streak. They have not lost five straight road games in a single season since dropping eight in a row Dec. 17, 2004-Jan. 17, 2005.

The Mavericks, meanwhile, have the league's best home record at 19-3, and have won six straight at American Airlines Center by an average of 13.0 points.

Dallas is coming off a 112-105 home win over the Lakers on Friday to win its second straight, and 10th in 12 games.

The Mavericks outscored Los Angeles 35-19 in the third quarter, and Dallas coach Avery Johnson attributed the second-half spark to Dirk Nowitzki's halftime speech.

"Challenging everybody is what it is all about," Johnson said. "That is what great leaders do.

"We are getting good leadership and that is what we need from our men"

The Mavericks are 1 1/2 games back of New Orleans - the Western Conference leaders - in the Southwest Division. Dallas is third in the conference, three games ahead of fourth-place Denver.

Nowitzki, is averaging team highs of 22.1 points and 8.5 rebounds, and finished with 26 and 10, respectively, on Friday. The seven-foot German had 32 points and 12 rebounds against the Nuggets earlier this season, and is averaging 31.3 points and 10.3 boards in his last six home games against them.

Josh Howard also had 26 points and 10 rebounds against Los Angeles, and is averaging 26.3 points - 5.5 points better than his season average - in his last three games. Howard had 20 points and six rebounds against Denver in December, and is averaging 25.7 points in three games against the Nuggets at American Airlines Center since the start of last season.