The Denver Nuggets have taken a 2-0 lead over Dallas after beating the Mavericks again on Tuesday night, 117-105 winning the Western Conference semifinal.

“They’ve held serve,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. “We go back to Dallas and we’ve got to do the same. We’ve got a few days to regroup and work on some things.”

Nuggets center Nene Hilario let the Mavericks with 25 points while J.R. Smith added 21 and Chauncey Billups added 18.

Dirk Nowitzki played great in a losing effort, scoring 35 points and 9 rebounds.

Game 3 will be on Saturday night in Dallas.