NBA Global games Mavs win in Mexico, Nuggets in London

MEXICO CITY – Deron Williams had 23 points and 15 assists, and the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Phoenix Suns, 113-108, on Thursday night in the fourth NBA regular-season game played in Mexico.

Williams shot 9 for 15 from the field in a matchup of struggling teams. Harrison Barnes added 22 points and Dirk Nowitzki scored 18 for the Mavericks, who broke a three-game losing streak.

Devin Booker scored 29 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter for the Suns. Tyson Chandler had 14 points and 19 rebounds against his former team.

Dallas and Phoenix are tied for the worst record in the Western Conference at 12-27.

The game was the first of two that the Suns will play south of the border. Mexico is hosting two games in one season for the first time in NBA history.

The previous regular-season game in Mexico took place in 2015, when Boston faced Sacramento.

Phoenix took a 59-57 lead at halftime, but Williams hit a couple of 3-pointers and a jumper in a 17-4 run to give the Mavericks a 76-63 lead with seven minutes left in the third quarter.

In the second quarter, Leandro Barbosa had back-to-back baskets and the Suns took the lead, but Dallas tied it with a shot from Barnes. Marquese Chriss got a layup with 19 seconds to play, sending Phoenix into the break with the lead.

In London, Italian star Danilo Gallinari and the Denver Nuggets made themselves right at home at O2 Arena.

Gallinari scored 18 points and had what coach Mike Malone said was easily his best game of the season to help Denver beat the Indiana Pacers, 140-112, in the NBA’s Global Games series.

“Just to come back to Europe and play in front of these fans, it was great,” said Gallinari, who wore knee-high socks adorned with the Union Jack and London skyline. “Hopefully, the fans had a good show.”

The Nuggets snapped a five-game losing streak and ended the Pacers’ five-game winning streak.

“I joked with our guys after the game, ‘I think we’re going to stay here in London and play our home games here,’” Malone said. “Our guys were very comfortable out there and we had one of our best performances.”

Nikola Jokic had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Wilson Chandler added 21 points for the Nuggets. They outscored the Pacers 39-20 in the third quarter, shooting 73.7 percent in the period to put it away.

Denver trailed only once, when Kevin Seraphin gave the Pacers a 31-30 lead early in the second quarter, and finished with a season high in scoring.

C.J. Miles had 20 points, and Jeff Teague added 14 points and nine assists for Indiana. The Pacers had won five in a row, scoring at least 120 points in each victory.

“We didn’t show up tonight. I don’t have a reason for that,” Pacers coach Nate McMillan said. “Denver, they came, showed up and played well, and I didn’t think that we showed up tonight.”

The Nuggets had conceded at least 120 points in each of their five losses, and when Malone asked players before the game what the key to victory would be, Gallinari who spoke up and said defense.