Nuggets, Mavs set to complete home-and-home set

After surviving to beat the Dallas Mavericks at home on Saturday, the Nuggets will try to repeat the feat Monday – this time in enemy territory.

Denver (6-6) will look to move above .500 for the first time this season, but it won’t be easy. The Nuggets are 1-4 on the road and will be facing a Mavericks team eager to avenge a 102-100 loss at Pepsi Center.

“We can’t hold our heads,” Dallas guard Monta Ellis said after the game. “We just need to wait for Monday.”

The Nuggets led by as many as 17 points in the first half Saturday before poor shot selection and turnovers enabled the Mavericks to come all the way back and take the lead in the fourth quarter.

Denver held on behind timely shooting from guard Randy Foye, who made a season-high five 3-pointers, and four straight defensive stops in the game’s final 2 minutes.

“I’m happy that we won the game but I told our guys that it came down to a close game because of what we did,” Nuggets coach Brian Shaw said. “We could have had them down in the first half, but we allowed them to stay around and have hope.”

The Nuggets have enjoyed recent success in Dallas, going 7-4 at American Airlines Center over the past five seasons. The Mavs are 7-0 at home, with an average margin of victory of 9.4 points.

MAVERICKS AT NUGGETS

WHEN: 6:30 p.m. MT
WHERE: American Airlines Center, Dallas
TV; RADIO: Altitude; AM-950

PROBABLE STARTERS
DENVER (6-6)
F Wilson Chandler
F Kenneth Faried
C J.J. Hickson
G Randy Foye
G Ty Lawson

DALLAS (9-5)
F Shawn Marion
F Dirk Nowitzki
C Samuel Dalembert
G Monta Ellis
G Jose Calderon

INJURY REPORT
DENVER: Danilo Gallinari (knee) and JaVale McGee (fractured left tibia) are out.
DALLAS: Devin Harris (foot surgery) and Brandan Wright (fractured left shoulder) are out.

SERIES NOTES
The Nuggets have won 15 of the past 23 meetings against Dallas dating to the end of the 2006-07 season . . . Denver has posted multiple wins against the Mavericks five times in the last 16 seasons, with four coming since 2007-08 . . . Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki is the last Nuggets opponent to record a triple-double (34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists at Dallas on March 29, 2010). He was one of only three players with a triple-double against Denver that season.