Nuggets Lose Gallinari, Beat Mavericks 95-94 [Video]

The Denver Nuggets stormed back in the fourth quarter to beat the Dallas Mavericks 95-94 on Thursday, but lost starting forward Danilo Gallinari when he blew out his left knee late in the first half.

Gallinari screamed in pain on the court while his teammates looked on in shock after he drove the lane on Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki. The 24-year-old took a jump-step into the lane before pulling up and hitting the floor near the baseline.

Gallinari will have an MRI Friday and is expected to miss the rest of the season. He is second on the team with an average of 16.2 points a game and will surely be missed by the Nuggets.

Corey Brewer replaced Gallinari after the injury, and led the Nuggets comeback with 23 points off the bench. Andre Miller pitched in with 22 points and seven assists as the Nuggets won their third straight game.

Brandon Wright led the Mavericks with 16 points off the bench as no Dallas player made more than six shots in the contest. Nowitzki played 35 minutes in the loss, and finished with 13 points and six rebounds.

Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried dominated the boards against the Mavericks, and finished with 12 points and 19 rebounds. Faried spoke with reporters after the game, and recognized the key loss in Danilo Gallinari.

“It’s not really demoralizing,” Faried said after the game. “It was disappointing to see a fellow player go down. You don’t want to see that on either team.”

Gallinari has been a leader for the Nuggets all season long, but more than likely will not return this year as the Nuggets look to make a run in the playoffs. Here’s video of the play that may have ended Gallinari’s great season:

The Nuggets will now move forward without Gallinari, and take on the Houston Rockets Saturday. The Rockets are also sporting a three-game winning streak and are only a game back of the Golden State Warriors for sixth in the Western Conference.

Denver has their work cut out for them without Gallinari, as Brewer will now step into a starting role with only two weeks left in the season. Brewer averages nearly 12 points a game, and stepped up last night with a huge offensive board that led to Andre Iguodala’s go-ahead layup with 2.8 seconds left in the game.

On the Mavericks following possession, Brewer got a piece of Anthony Morrow’s shot at the buzzer to seal the win for the Nuggets. Denver has just six games left in the season and are 4 1/2 games back of the San Antonio Spurs for the lead out West.

Can the Denver Nuggets contend for the NBA Championship after losing Danilo Gallinari to injury in Thursday’s 95-94 win over the Dallas Mavericks?

[Image via Creative Commons]