Arron Afflalo scored 26 points, Ty Lawson had 25 and the Denver Nuggets continued their playoff push with a 105-102 victory over the fading Houston Rockets Monday. Al Harrington added 15 points and Andre Miller had 13 assists for the Nuggets, who swept back-to-back games with the Rockets, the team directly behind them in the Western Conference standings. Denver began the night holding the No. 7 spot in the Western Conference, one game ahead of the Rockets. Houston is now tied with Phoenix and a half-game ahead of Utah. Goran Dragic and Chandler Parsons scored 21 points apiece for the Rockets. Utah 123, Dallas 121: Al Jefferson scored 28 points and tied a career-high with 26 rebounds as the Jazz defeated Dallas in triple-overtime to halt a seven-game losing streak against the Mavericks and preserve their slim playoff hopes. Utah began the day 10th in the Western Conference but pulled one-half game behind Phoenix and Houston for the eighth and final spot with four games remaining. The loss dropped Dallas to seventh in the West, one-half game behind Denver. Dirk Nowitzki scored 40 points for the second straight time. His 3-pointer forced the second overtime. Miami 101, New Jersey 98: LeBron James scored Miami's final 17 points in a furious one-man rally, finishing with 37 as the Heat pulled out a road victory over the Nets. Chris Bosh had 22 points and 15 rebounds for the Heat . Kris Humphries scored 29 points and MarShon Brooks had 24 for the Nets. Washington 87, Chicago 84: Kevin Seraphin had 21 points and 13 rebounds, and the Wizards beat short-handed Chicago. Richard Hamilton scored 22 points to lead the Bulls, who played without injured stars Derrick Rose and Luol Deng. Orlando 113, Philadelphia 100: Ryan Anderson had 26 points and 16 rebounds, J.J. Redick scored 18 points and the Magic held off the 76ers. Indiana 111, Minnesota 88: David West had 22 points and 10 rebounds to help the Pacers beat the Timberwolves for their fifth consecutive win. Minnesota lost its 10th in a row. Atlanta 109, Toronto 87: The Hawks got their seventh win in eight games against the Raptors, to keep pace with Orlando for fifth place in the Eastern Conference. N. Orleans 75, Charlotte 67: Greivis Vasquez scored 20 points and the Hornets handed the Bobcats a franchise-record 17th straight loss. The Hornets, playing without leading scorers Eric Gordon and Chris Kaman, won despite shooting 34 percent from the floor, in the second-lowest scoring NBA game this season. Phoenix 125, Portland 107: Marcin Gortat had 20 points and 10 rebounds and Steve Nash had 13 assists to pace the Suns over the Trail Blazers Other results: San Antonio 120, Golden State 99, LA Clippers 92, Oklahoma City 77.
