DALLAS — So much for the idea that the Dallas Mavericks would be devastated by the way Game 3 ended. Inspired was more like it.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 19 of his 44 points in the fourth quarter, including a go-ahead, high-arching shot with 1:05 left in a 119-117 victory over the Denver Nuggets last night that prevented the Mavericks from being swept and injected a whole lot more excitement into this second-round series.

"It was an unbelievable game," Nowitzki said. "We were down the whole game, but were able to come back and win and we've been doing that all season long. ... We've got to go back to Denver and let it all hang out again."

Carmelo Anthony scored a career playoff-best 41 points and hit a 3-pointer with 3.1 seconds left from nearly the exact spot as his winning basket in the previous game, only this time it left Denver a point shy of a tie.

Dallas' Jason Terry made a free throw with 1.1 seconds left, then missed another — intentionally, he said. Anthony got the rebound but couldn't stop the clock and didn't have enough time to even get off a 90-foot heave. The buzzer sounded and confetti fell as the teams left the court, knowing they will meet again tomorrow night in Denver.

"We're still in control of this going back to our home court," Anthony said. "We'll be ready."

The Mavs also lost the season series 0-4, but they knew they were getting closer.

"We've been fighting and fighting this whole series," said Josh Howard, who had 21 points and 11 rebounds. "The win finally went our way. ... The end of Game 3 gave us a lot of willpower for this game."

DENVER 34 29 27 27 — 117

DALLAS 23 30 32 34 — 119

DENVER—Anthony 15-29 9-11 41, Martin 1-4 0-0 2, Nene 2-5 5-10 9, Billups 6-12 10-10 24, Jones 3-8 3-4 10, Smith 7-10 3-5 19, Kleiza 2-7 2-4 7, Carter 2-4 0-0 5. Totals 38-79 32-44 117.

DALLAS—Howard 7-18 7-8 21, Nowitzki 14-25 16-17 44, Dampier 0-1 0-0 0, Kidd 4-8 3-4 13, Wright 3-6 2-2 8, Terry 3-7 5-7 12, Bass 4-6 3-3 11, Singleton 0-0 0-0 0, Barea 5-8 0-2 10. Totals 40-79 36-43 119.

3-Point Goals—Denver 9-21 (Smith 2-3, Anthony 2-5, Billups 2-6, Jones 1-1, Carter 1-2, Kleiza 1-4), Dallas 3-14 (Kidd 2-5, Terry 1-4, Wright 0-1, Howard 0-4). Fouled Out—Martin, Dampier. Rebounds—Denver 43 (Anthony 11), Dallas 56 (Nowitzki 13). Assists—Denver 16 (Billups 7), Dallas 17 (Kidd 6). Total Fouls—Denver 29, Dallas 29. Technicals—Anthony, Billups, Kleiza, Bass, Dampier, Terry, Wright. Flagrant Fouls—HowardTerry. A—20,523 (19,200).