DALLAS, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- Dirk Nowitzki scored 14 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, including a go-ahead three-point play with 6.9 seconds left Tuesday night, as the Dallas Mavericks edged the Denver Nuggets, 95-94, to snap a two-game losing streak.
Denver, which has lost five in a row and nine of 10, had a chance to win, but Nick Van Exel's 3-pointer just before the buzzer barely grazed the net.
Trailing 84-77 after Greg Buckner's basket with 6:49 remaining, Denver went on an 11-0 run that was capped by a jumper by Raef LaFrentz with 2:53 to go.
LaFrentz scored in the paint to give Denver a 92-87 lead with 1:16 left, but Eduardo Najera made a basket in traffic and Nowitzki hit a 3-pointer to tie the game with 33 seconds left.
Avery Johnson scored on a layup with 19 seconds to go to give Denver a 94-92 lead. After Dallas called timeout, the ball went into the paint to Nowitzki, who faked Ryan Bowen into the air on a headfake and got his shot to fall. Nowitzki hit the ensuing free throw to close the scoring.
Dallas, which placed All-Star guard Michael Finley on the injured list Tuesday with a strained left hamstring, defeated Denver at home for the ninth straight time.
Denver was paced by Van Exel, who scored 15 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter. LaFrentz added 24 points and 11 rebounds.
