Mavericks fall to Nuggets
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION

DENVER (AP) - The minutes didn't matter. The Denver Nuggets were just encouraged to see a uniform draping Nene's beefy body again, and that great smile splashed across his face once more.

The big Brazilian forward played the final 77 seconds of the Nuggets' 118-105 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night, marking his return to the court 21/2 months after surgery to remove a malignant testicular tumor.

"Everybody was excited to see Nene back out there, just to see him back in his uniform, seeing him smile again after the stuff he's been through," said Carmelo Anthony, who scored 32 points and keyed the decisive run in the Nuggets' fourth straight win.

Allen Iverson added 31 points for the Nuggets, who are a half-game behind Golden State for the eighth and final playoff spot, and one game behind the Mavericks, barely hanging on to that No. 7 spot.

Dallas (45-27) visits Golden State Sunday at 8 p.m., a huge game.

Anthony also chipped in 10 boards and eight assists, helping Denver overcame a 30- point night by Josh Howard and 19 points and 15 assists from Jason Kidd.

The Mavericks are 10-9 since acquiring Kidd from New Jersey, but none of the wins was against teams with winning records. Six of their final 10 games are against teams above .500, including two against Golden State, one Sunday.

Dallas fell to 1-1 since losing MVP Dirk Nowitzki indefinitely with knee and ankle injuries.

But the Mavs controlled the tempo for much of the game. Kidd was left unguarded on the left elbow and swished a 3- pointer in the third quarter to give the Mavericks a 79-71 lead. The Nuggets responded with an 18-2 run, with Anthony scoring half of the points. His breakaway slam dunk gave Denver its first lead since the opening minutes.