The Dallas Mavericks picked up their fourth-straight win in a 123-120 thriller against the Denver Nuggets. Dallas led by 20 at halftime and eventually as much as 24 early in the third quarter before Denver stormed back to take a lead in the 4th quarter.

The stakes were significantly lower the last time the Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets played against each other, just 12 days ago. Not this time around. The implications were higher for Friday’s meeting between the two teams because they entered the matchup with identical 1-1 records in the second-annual NBA Cup.

Nikola Jokic made his return from a three-game absence and produced a triple-double, but it wasn't enough to beat a Mavericks team that was without Luka Doncic. Jokic led the Nuggets with 33 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists.