DALLAS — The Nuggets dug themselves a 17-point hole, rallied to take the lead, then decided one comeback wasn’t enough. So they fell behind again by 18 late in the third quarter, just to furiously battle back for a 112-101 win over the Mavericks on Sunday at American Airlines Center. Jamal Murray bounced back from a terrible start in on-brand fashion. Nikola Jokic was substandard, but he finished with 19 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists. Russell Westbrook stayed hot with 21 points and 10 boards. And Aaron Gordon announced his return from injury with a phenomenal 13-point, 6-for-7 performance. The power forward came off the bench after a nine-game absence caused by the right calf strain that has plagued him all season. The Nuggets (23-15) have now won seven games this season after trailing by double digits in the fourth quarter. This one, they won 33-12. They will complete a baseball series in Dallas on Tuesday. Denver somehow made it to halftime trailing by only three despite shooting 29% the 3-point line, missing seven free throws, giving up 61 points including a 10-for-15 outside clip and getting minimal production from Jokic, Murray and Michael Porter Jr. Dallas was making Jokic work to get to his spots, and Murray was a minus-20 with three fouls. But after falling behind by 17, the Nuggets got an unexpected boost from their second unit, which featured Gordon playing on a minutes restriction. He was able to comfortably get to his 15-foot fadeaway, contributing eight early points without missing a shot. DeAndre Jordan was effective as well in a plus-five stint while Jokic sat. The bench lineup was bigger than usual, with Porter, Gordon and Jordan each sharing on the floor. Related Articles Denver Nuggets | Aaron Gordon returns from calf strain injury on minutes restriction against Mavericks Denver Nuggets | Jordi Fernandez returns to Denver as first-time NBA head coach: “Every year that I was here helped prepare me” Denver Nuggets | Nikola Jokic, Russell Westbrook match triple-doubles as Nuggets hold off short-handed Nets Denver Nuggets | Nuggets Journal: Michael Porter Jr. is having career year. Would trading him help or hurt Denver’s roster? Denver Nuggets | Russell Westbrook on playing through wildfires back home in Los Angeles: “It’s hard for me to sleep” By the fourth quarter, Murray was still struggling but no longer in foul trouble. He and Gordon took over during the second unit’s minutes, knocking down consecutive 3s to suddenly cut the deficit to 91-89 and force a Jason Kidd timeout. Moments later, Gordon threw a game-tying alley-oop to Jordan. It was a 22-4 run to set up a tense finish. Murray was listed as questionable with left knee inflammation after leaving Friday’s game at halftime. Murray missed the 2021-22 season with a torn ACL in the same knee, so Denver is always particularly precautious with any soreness he feels. “It’s unfortunate. With his injury, and the past injury, that’s just something that’s going to pop up every once in a while,” Malone said before the game. “And obviously this month of January, as we all know, is a very dense game schedule. Seventeen games, and I don’t think we have two days in between games until after the All-Star break. So we just have to continue to talk with Jamal, talk with the training staff, to see how he’s feeling. But as of this morning, I think he’s trending in the right direction.” Want more Nuggets news? Sign up for the Nuggets Insider to get all our NBA analysis.