DENVER (AP) – Sensing teammate Michael Finley was about to go on a scoring streak, Jerry Stackhouse started yelling “Get warm Fin, get warm!”

Finley did, then it was Dirk Nowitzki’s turn.

Finley hit three straight baskets during a key third-quarter run and Nowitzki finished it off, scoring 25 of his 36 points in the second half to help the Dallas Mavericks rally for a 102-88 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night.

Finley and Nowitzki were a combined 7-of-20 in the first half before taking over in the second, allowing the Mavericks to turn a 12-point deficit into a three-point lead at the end of the third quarter. Finley finished with 20 points and Erick Dampier added 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Denver was without leading scorer Carmelo Anthony for the fourth straight game because of a sprained ankle and had to play the second half without power forward Kenyon Martin due to back spasms.

The Nuggets did all right in the first half without Anthony, but couldn’t overcome Martin’s absence, losing their fifth straight and seventh in eight games. Andre Miller led the Nuggets with 18 points and eight assists, and Earl Boykins added 16 points.

Finley and Nowitzki had a lot to do with it, combining for 16 points in a 27-12 run to end the third quarter that put Dallas up 75-72.

Finley, 3-of-10 in the first half, got it going with three straight baskets, including a floater in the lane after an offensive rebound to get Dallas within four. Nowitzki took over from there, hitting three straight free throws, a 3-pointer and a pair of jumpers after going 4-of-10 in the first half.

Nowitzki kept it going in the fourth, hitting three straight jumpers to help the Mavericks push the lead to 93-86 with just over three minutes left. He also banked in a 3-pointer at the shot-clock buzzer in the final minute, finishing 14-of-25.

It was a good thing those two got going after the way the Mavericks started the game.

Dallas spent much of the first half alternating defenses to confuse the Nuggets, and it only worked part of the time.

The Mavericks struggled to keep Atlanta from getting to the rim in a 13-point loss Wednesday and were having the same kind of trouble early against Denver, allowing the Nuggets to hit four of their first six shots.

Dallas then switched to a 3-2 zone, which gave Denver some trouble – for a little while.

Unable to hit from the outside and forcing it up from the inside, the Nuggets closed out the first quarter by missing six of their final eight shots. But Denver got things worked out between quarters and started getting inside Dallas’ zone and out on the break, using a late 15-4 run to take a 52-43 halftime lead.

The Mavericks were even worse on offense, shooting 36 percent in the first half and missing all six of their 3-pointers.

Notes: Stackhouse was in uniform but didn’t play, missing his fourth straight game with a bruised right hand. … Nowitzki was fouled twice on 3-point shots and made all six free throws. … Denver dropped to 3-13 when scoring less than 18 fastbreak points.

AP-ES-12-26-04 2347EST