The Denver Nuggets, fired by standout performances from Russell Westbrook and Nikola Jokic, rallied from a 19-point third-quarter deficit to beat the Dallas Mavericks 112-101.

Westbrook scored 21 points with 10 rebounds and seven assists, reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic scored 19 points with 18 rebounds and nine assists and the Nuggets out-scored the Mavs 33-12 in the fourth quarter to seize the victory in Texas.

In fact the Nuggets put together two impressive comeback runs, erasing a seven-point deficit to take a one-point lead early in the third quarter only for the Mavericks to race away again.

Denver took the lead for good on Westbrook's running layup for a 97-96 lead with 5:21 to play. Jokic drove for a basket and Westbrook added another layup and the Nuggets pulled away.

Klay Thompson scored 25 points to lead the Mavericks, who were again without star guards Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

"I believe we lead the league in double-figure comebacks, and that's a catch-22 because I don't like the fact that we've been down that many times double figures," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said.

"What I love about this group is how resilient they are," he added. "We get down, we stay the course, there is no panic – we stay the course and try to find a way. Didn't like the start, but I loved the finish, and that's all that counts."

Elsewhere, Jalen Brunson scored 44 points and Karl-Anthony Towns added 30 points and 18 rebounds to lead the New York Knicks in a 140-106 rout of the Milwaukee Bucks.

Brunson set a tone with 23 points in the first quarter and shook off a hard fall early in the third, as the Knicks rebounded from a lopsided loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 24 points and Damian Lillard added 22 for the Bucks, whose three-game winning streak ended.

Meanwhile, the Indiana Pacers erased a 15-point deficit to bring Cleveland's 12-game NBA winning streak to an emphatic end, beating the league-leading Cavaliers 108-93.

Andrew Nembhard scored 19 points, Pascal Siakam added 18 and Myles Turner had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Pacers, who weathered the half-time departure of star guard Tyrese Haliburton with a tight left hamstring.

Indiana handed the Cavaliers just their second home defeat of the season, notching their own sixth straight victory by a double-digit margin.

"It's nothing to lose," Nembhard said of the Pacers' second-half push. "This is the best team in the league right now. We just had to play hard, play together, put some more physicality in the game on the defensive side and play off that." (AFP)