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Spencer Dinwiddie scored the go-ahead lay-up with 26.3 seconds left as the Nets came up with defensive stops on Denver’s final two possessions to edge the Nuggets 105-102 on Sunday in Brooklyn.
Dinwiddie led the Nets with 24 points and using a high screen set by Taurean Prince, he glided through the middle of the lane. He got by Gary Harris and gave the Nets a 103-102 lead just before Jerami Grant could provide help.
The Nuggets called their last timeout with the intention of getting the ball to Nikola Jokic, but the Nets immediately provided a double team with Prince and Jarrett Allen. The ball wound up in Will Barton’s hand but he missed an off-balance jumper in the paint.
After Prince made two free throws to put the Nets up 105-102 with six seconds left, he contested Jamal Murray’s three-point attempt from the right side and the shot went long, giving the Nets their ninth win in 12 games without Kyrie Irving (right shoulder impingement).
The fourth quarter featured 10 lead changes and two ties.
Before Dinwiddie scored the game-winning hoop, he had a lay-up that put Brooklyn up 101-100 with 42.3 seconds left.
After Denver called their penultimate timeout, Jokic hit a reverse lay-up around Allen for a 102-101 Denver lead with 30.5 seconds to go.
Allen added 19 points and 11 rebounds as the Nets held a commanding 66-22 edge on points in the paint to offset missing 21-of-28 three-pointers. Garrett Temple added 15 and Joe Harris chipped in 13 as Brooklyn shot 46 per cent and never led by more than eight points.
Jokic posted a double-double with 24 points and 11 rebounds but Denver lost for the fourth time in five games. Murray added 21 and hit three three-pointers as Denver shot 40.4 per cent from the floor and 42.9 per cent (18-of-42) from three-point range two days after hitting a season-low five triples in Boston.
Denver trailed by seven with little more than two minutes left in the first half but took their first lead at 54-53 when Murray hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer. The Nets held an 82-77 lead entering the wild final 12 minutes.
