The Mavericks had their best defensive quarter in franchise history Saturday night.
That it came a month into Wesley Matthews' tenure with them is no coincidence.
With the shooting guard taking the challenge of guarding Nuggets power forward Danilo Gallinari, the Mavericks held the visitors to five points in the third quarter, turning a close game into a runaway, then coasting to a 92-81 victory to end their three-game losing streak.
The Nuggets shot 2 for 19 in the quarter and also had nine turnovers. The previous low for a Mavericks' opponent in a quarter was seven by the Los Angeles Lakers on Jan. 16, 2012.
It was a showing that put a smile on Matthews' face. He's struggled with his shot so far this season, but his defense has been exemplary. The Mavericks know he's the heart of the team at that end of the floor.
"When I do it, it gets everybody else going, gets the mojo going," Matthews said.
It was the second game in a row the Mavericks have held an opponent under 90 points, following San Antonio's 88-83 win on Wednesday. Denver is not in the same class as the Spurs, but the Mavericks have held four teams under 90 in the first 17 games of the season.
That only happened 12 times all last season.
"We've had a spike in our defensive numbers," coach Rick Carlisle said. "He has been a significant part of that."
Carlisle mentioned opening night of the season, when Matthews guarded Phoenix power forward Markieff Morris.
"That sent a real message to our team that he meant business," Carlisle said. "We were beginning a new era for our team in terms of our attitude."
They were not totally bankrupt offensively, either. Deron Williams continued his sharp shooting and had 22 points. Zaza Pachulia had his 10th double-double of the season.
The Mavericks could not have drawn up a better quarter than they played in the third.
The Nuggets simply could not score. Yes, they missed some open shots. But they were contested on a lot of shots, too. The Mavericks quickly put a blah first half behind them, and the third quarter was like mouthwash to the awful taste they had after the 0-3 road trip.
They were stopping off at AAC for one game -- again. They spent most of the last two weeks living out of the suitcase and will continue to do so for most of the next 10 days. They hit the road again Sunday, flying to the West Coast where they start a quick, two-game trip at Sacramento on Monday.
The good news is that they so far have done the right thing in taking care of the home court on the rare occasions they've gotten the chance to do so.
"We had to grind," Carlisle said. "The game was too free and easy [in the first half]. They had too many open looks. The guys did a great job, which reflected in the defensive effort [after halftime]."
The third quarter was a masterpiece for the Mavericks.
Denver missed its first 15 shots in the quarter. Not all of that was great Maverick defense, but some of it was. And the Mavericks took advantage by scoring the first 16 points of the quarter to go ahead 64-52.
"That's a complete team effort right there," Matthews said. "I didn't realize it until I came out of the game and saw they had 52. I thought, didn't they start with that?"
Yes, they did.
"Wes is our go-to guy on defense," said Dirk Nowitzki. "He can guard multiple positions. He's just a fighter. We'll live with him on the opposing best player all day."
Twitter: @ESefko