Mavericks top Nuggets in OT

DALLAS — Mavericks backup guard Raymond Felton took charge of a game filled with wild scoring swings to save Dallas from a near-disastrous loss, leading it to a 122-116 overtime victory against the Denver Nuggets Friday night at American Airlines Center. Felton scored 10 of his 16 points on the final possession of the fourth quarter and overtime. Dallas trailed by 23 points in the second quarter, took the lead in the third only to fall behind by 14 points with more than eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter and they trailed by nine points with less than two minutes left in regulation. Felton tied it 108-108 with 10.5 seconds left in regulation when drove a wide-open lane for a layup as Denver’s defense keyed on Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki, and nobody bothered to stick with Felton. Still, Denver had plenty of time to get a good look coming out of the timeout, but forward Will Barton, who led Denver with 22 points despite poor shooting, went one-on-one against Felton, took the possession deep into the clock and then front-rimmed a long jumper. The isolation sequence infuriated Nuggets coach Mike Malone and sent the game into overtime. “You’re on the road, hostile environment — you need to have poise, you need to slow down, execute the play,” Malone said. “What happens sometimes in those situations (is that) I think it’s really important that you trust each other, and I think a lot of our guys think they need to make the play. And their heart’s in the right place, but that’s when we need to trust each other on both ends of the floor.” Felton, who Dallas coach Rick Carlisle inserted into the starting lineup to open the second half for a small-ball look, then scored eight of Dallas’ 13 points and grabbed a key defensive rebound as the veteran Mavericks (31-28) pulled a game it simply could not lose to the lottery-bound Nuggets as the race at the bottom of the Western Conference playoff chase tightens. Dallas forward Chandler Parsons paced Dallas with 27 points, forward Dirk Nowitzki had 20 points, 13 rebounds and four assists. Forward David Lee, in just his second game with Dallas, recorded 14 points and 14 rebounds. Denver got a balanced scoring attack, but failed to get the defensive stops it needed to protect its large leads throughout the game. Forward Kenneth Faried had 20 points and 12 rebounds, guard D.J. Augustin finished with 20 points and guard Gary Harris had 17. Knicks 108, Magic 95: The New York Knicks ended a six-game home losing streak with a 108-95 win over the Orlando Magic on Friday at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks’ last home win was a 102-84 victory over the Phoenix Suns on January 29. Forward Carmelo Anthony led seven Knicks (25-35) in double figures with 19 points. He also recorded 11 rebounds and six assists for his 19th double-double this season. Hornets 96, Pacers 95: Guard Kemba Walker’s driving layup with 2.4 seconds remaining gave the Charlotte Hornets a 96-95 victory against the Indiana Pacers on Friday night in Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Indiana (31-27) had taken a 95-94 lead on a Monta Ellis runner with 16.2 seconds remaining, and the Hornets (30-27) called a timeout with 10.1 seconds to play. Walker caught the inbounds pass in the backcourt and drove right to the basket for the game-winner. Wizards 103, 76ers 94: Guard John Wall had 23 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds as the Washington Wizards beat the Philadelphia 76ers 103-94 on Friday night. It was the 33rd double-double of the season for Wall, who had a triple-double in Washington’s victory over Philadelphia on Feb. 5. He notched six of his points in a 13-0 Washington burst bridging the third and fourth quarters, when the Wizards (27-30) erased a six-point deficit and took the lead for good. Other results: Hawks 103, Bulls 88; Raptors 99, Cavaliers 97; Clippers 117, Kings 107; Grizzlies 112, Lakers 95.