Associated Press

Dallas Mavericks (8-7, 11th in the Western Conference) vs. Denver Nuggets (8-5, fifth in the Western Conference)

Denver; Friday, 10 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Dallas seeks to keep its three-game win streak alive when the Mavericks take on Denver.

The Nuggets are 4-5 in Western Conference games. Denver is fifth in the league with 46.2 rebounds led by Nikola Jokic averaging 13.7.

The Mavericks have gone 6-6 against Western Conference opponents. Dallas ranks sixth in the Western Conference with 17.2 fast break points per game led by Luka Doncic averaging 4.6.

The Nuggets make 46.8% of their shots from the field this season, which is 2.1 percentage points higher than the Mavericks have allowed to their opponents (44.7%). The Mavericks average 115.6 points per game, 0.5 more than the 115.1 the Nuggets give up to opponents.

TOP PERFORMERS: Michael Porter Jr. is shooting 47.9% and averaging 18.3 points for the Nuggets.

Kyrie Irving is averaging 24.3 points and 5.2 assists for the Mavericks.

LAST 10 GAMES: Nuggets: 7-3, averaging 119.7 points, 45.4 rebounds, 30.7 assists, 9.0 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 48.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 116.0 points per game.

Mavericks: 5-5, averaging 118.0 points, 44.3 rebounds, 25.5 assists, 7.7 steals and 4.8 blocks per game while shooting 50.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 109.2 points.

INJURIES: Nuggets: Aaron Gordon: out (calf), DaRon Holmes II: out for season (achilles), Nikola Jokic: day to day (personal).

Mavericks: Dante Exum: out (wrist).

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

Pop music icon Billie Eilish had a very important request before performing a sold-out show at Denver’s Ball Arena on Tuesday night: She wanted to snuggle with some animals.

Two Front Range shelters were more than happy to bring some furry friends for a backstage meet-and-greet with Eilish and her team, Brighter Days Dog Rescue founder and director Becca Orin said.

Broken Shovels Farm Sanctuary first got the request through the venue, and the Commerce City sanctuary teamed up with Brighter Days in Boulder to bring puppies, kittens and a pony to the arena.

Eilish, her mom and team were “amazing,” Orin said, and showered the animals with love – particularly Samson the pony, who was overjoyed by all of the attention and cookies.

Brighter Days shared photos of the visit in a post on Facebook, with Eilish grinning cheek-to-cheek with a puppy and getting a nuzzle from Samson.

“This is not the first time we have brought animals to Ball Arena for the artists ahead of their performance, but this was the first time the artist was kind enough and generous enough to let us take pictures and give us permission to post them on social media,” Orin said.

Eilish is set to perform a second sold-out show at Ball Arena on Wednesday night as part of her Hit Me Hard And Soft Tour.

Get more Colorado news by signing up for our daily Your Morning Dozen email newsletter.

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, In The Know, to get entertainment news sent straight to your inbox.

Originally Published: November 20, 2024 at 4:21 PM MST

The Denver Broncos just had one of their complete and dominating wins in a long time.

Bo Nix put up one of the best games a rookie quarterback has played in the NFL.

Now the Broncos (6-5) are in the thick of the AFC Playoff picture and a legitimate NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate. Now Denver will look for the season sweep of the Las Vegas Raiders (2-8) on Sunday. Prior to their 34-18 win in Week 5, the Broncos hadn’t beaten Las Vegas in eight straight games.

To keep the playoff hopes alive, Denver needs to follow up their win over the Atlanta Falcons with another strong performance this week.

Offensive Rankings

Denver: Twenty-third in total offense (312.5 yards per game), 20th in rushing offense (116.0 YPG), 25th in passing offense (196.5 YPG), 20th in scoring (21.4 points per game).

Las Vegas: Thirtieth in total offense (285.0 yards per game), 32nd in rushing offense (75.2 YPG), 17th in passing offense (209.8 YPG), tied for 24th in scoring (18.7 points per game).

Defensive Rankings

Denver: Third in total defense (289.4 yards per game), sixth in rushing defense (98.6 YPG), seventh in passing defense (190.7 YPG), third in scoring (16.6 points per game).

Las Vegas: Tied for 13th in total defense (327.8 yards per game), 15th in rushing defense (125.1 YPG), 11th in passing defense (202.7 YPG), 29th in scoring (28.5 points per game).

Here are the MHR staff’s keys to Sunday’s game.

No let up from the Broncos

Denver absolutely dominated and demolished the Falcons. It’s natural to have a letup the following week, especially against a bad opponent. The Broncos need to avoid this and adopt the same mindset they did against Atlanta. Don’t think about Las Vegas’s record or any of the struggles. Focus on the task at hand this week, and that’s playing another complementary football game. — Ian St. Clair

Dominate on third downs

To keep winning games, the Broncos need to continue winning on the money down. Check out how they’ve done on 3rd down over the last month:

• Vs CAR: 11 of 17 (64.7%)
• @ BAL: 6 of 14 (42.9%)
• @ KC: 7 of 13 (53.8%)
• Vs ATL: 6 of 11 (54.5%)
• Total: 30 of 55 (54.5%)

What’s crazy about that is that the Broncos are still down at just 36.99% (20th) on the season- evidence of just how much this offense has improved since those early struggles. Turning that around has resulted in two blowout wins and a heartbreaker of a what-should’ve-been in the last month. And that 54.5% mark is top 5 in the NFL over that time period. Continuing that success will mean dominating teams like the Raiders who lack the QB or the offensive horsepower to match the Broncos. — Taylor Kothe

Generate turnovers

The Raiders were lowkey sticking it to the Broncos defense early in their last matchup, but that pick-six by Pat Surtain changed everything. Gardner Minshew hasn’t been the same quarterback since and the Broncos defense needs to keep that lack of confidence a thing next week. If they can get him to commit just one turnover, I think that’ll keep the edge completely in favor of Denver’s D in this game. — Tim Lynch

Own the line of scrimmage

The offense can control the game by running the football and keeping Bo Nix clean. The big guys up front did the work against the Falcons, and that should continue against the Raiders. On defense, the line can make Gardner Minshew wish he was cutting grass instead of being shoved into it. Being disruptive in the backfield, and causing issues in the run game should lead to turnovers, good field position on offense and points. — Adam Malnati

Contain Brock Browers

Bowers went for 8-97-1 in the Week 5 clash with the Raiders and has become the target of choice for Minshew over the last several weeks, clearly apparent from his 13-126-1 line last week against Miami. I fully expect Surtain can shut down Jakobi Meyers on the outside, but some combination of McMillan, linebackers, and safeties — maybe even two of the above — will need to key on the rookie tight end. If the Broncos succeed vs. Bowers, Vegas is going to be hard-pressed to move the ball. — Jonathan Rice

Keep up the creative playcalling

Against the Falcons, Head Coach Sean Payton did a tremendous job of being creative with his playcalling. I thought it was one of the best games he called all season. Pro sets and pistol look, extensive use of motion, and multiple types of screenplays had the Broncos’ offense rolling and firing on all cylinders. Various players at multiple skill positions had their names called and rose to the occasion. The Raiders’ defense is in the top half of the league in rushing and passing yards allowed, but one of the worst-ranked teams in points allowed. That should provide the Broncos’ offense another prime opportunity to keep the momentum going in their favor. — Christopher Hart

What are your keys to Sunday’s game?