Dallas 80, Denver 75

DENVER, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Michael Finley scored 30 points and Steve Nash added 16 Wednesday night as the cold-shooting Dallas Mavericks survived a defensive struggle for their fifth straight win, an 80-75 victory over the Denver Nuggets.

All-Star forward Dirk Nowitzki hit just two of 13 from the floor and contributed only nine points in 32 minutes.

Former Nuggets Raef LaFrentz and Nick Van Exel each hit three of 11 shots. The Midwest Division-leading Mavericks -- the NBA's highest scoring team -- shot 33 percent.

Former Maverick Juwan Howard scored 21 points to pace the Nuggets, who dropped their season-high sixth straight game.