DALLAS – Playing with the desperation of a team facing elimination, even though they weren’t, the Dallas Mavericks began climbing back into their first-round series against the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night.

And it took an undrafted rookie to get them going.

Marquis Daniels shook, spun and shot his way to 11 of his 22 points during a third-quarter spurt that deflated the Kings and sent the Mavericks to a 104-79 victory in Game 3.

Dallas, down 2-1 in the series, has a chance to even it in Game 4 Monday night. Game 5 in Sacramento is on Thursday night.

The Mavs came in confident of getting a lift merely by being at home, where they were a league-best 36-5 this season. They got off to a great start, too, yet led by only seven at halftime and had plenty of things going wrong, starting with four fouls on point guard Steve Nash.

His extended minutes, despite the mounting fouls, was a clear indication of the importance Dallas coach Don Nelson put on avoiding an 0-3 hole, something no team in league history has overcome. Nelson also hardly rested Dirk Nowitzki after he got two fouls the first eight minutes.

Sacramento’s Mike Bibby showed no signs of a strained hip sustained in practice Friday, scoring 22 points.

Hornets 77, Heat 71

NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Hornets used defense and inspired play by their injured All-Star guard to get back into their opening-round playoff series.

Baron Davis, nursing a sprained left ankle, had a team-high 21 points and the Hornets held Miami to 32.9 percent shooting in a 77-71 victory.

The Heat now lead the best-of-seven series 2-1.

Game 4 is Tuesday night in New Orleans.

David Wesley shot 3-of-4 from 3-point range for 18 points, while the struggling Jamaal Magloire fought through constant double-teams for 12 points, including two free throws in the final minute that gave New Orleans a much-needed four-point cushion.

Pistons 95, Bucks 85

MILWAUKEE – After a slow start, the Detroit Pistons showed their vaunted defense when it mattered most.

Ben Wallace had 13 points and 21 rebounds Saturday as the Pistons shut down Milwaukee over the final four minutes for a 95-85 victory and a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference playoff series.

Game 4 is Monday in Milwaukee.

Detroit, expected to come out firing after losing to Milwaukee at home this week, gave up 30 points in the first period and needed a run at the start of the third period to take its first lead of the game.

Nuggets 107, T-wolves 86

DENVER – Carmelo Anthony scored 24 points and added 10 rebounds to lead the Nuggets to a 107-86 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 3 of their best-of-seven series Saturday night.

Playing at home in the postseason for the first time in nine years, the Nuggets earned their first home playoff victory in a decade and avoided going down 3-0 in the series.

Denver’s previous home playoff game was May 2, 1995, a 99-95 loss to San Antonio.

Latrell Sprewell scored 25 points and Kevin Garnett added 24 for the Timberwolves, who fell behind by 17 points early in the game and only mounted one serious threat.

after that.

Garnett added 11 rebounds, but that was far fewer than the 21 he had averaged in the first two games of the series. The Nuggets, led by Marcus Camby’s 16 rebounds, had a 53-36 edge on the boards.

Sprewell’s 3-pointer got the Timberwolves within 67-59 with just under 61/2 minutes left in the third quarter, but Minnesota didn’t get another field goal until Garnett hit a layup with 10:53 to go in the game.

By then, it was too late.

Miller hit two free throws after Sprewell’s 3, starting an 11-0 run – capped by Voshon Lenard’s 3-pointer from the corner – that made it 78-59 with 3:12 to go in the period.

After that, The Timberwolves never got closer than 15 points.

Denver never trailed, thanks to 61 percent (11-for-18) shooting in the first quarter. The Timberwolves missed 14 of their first 17 shots.

But the Nuggets, who went on an 11-0 run after the midpoint of the period and led 23-6 with just over 31/2 minutes left, couldn’t maintain that pace.

They were just 6-for-23 from the field in the second quarter and led 54-41 at the half.

Nene had 14 points on 7-for-8 shooting for Denver, after going 4-for-14 from the field in the first two games. Camby had 12 points and Earl Boykins finished with 10.

Wally Szczerbiak had 11 points for the Timberwolves, who are seeking their first playoff series win in eight tries. Sam Cassell added 10 points for Minnesota.

Before Saturday night, the Nuggets hadn’t won in the postseason since beating Utah 94-91 on May 19, 1994 in their former home, McNichols Arena. That was in the Western Conference semifinals, also the last time Denver made it out of the first round.

AP-ES-04-25-04 0030EDT