(My Sportsbook) - The Denver Nuggets will conclude a three-game road trip in Dallas Friday hoping to hold on to their narrow lead in the Northwest Division and finish the first season sweep of the playoff-hopeful Mavericks in franchise history.

The Nuggets have already beaten Dallas three times this season and have won four straight and six of their last seven meetings against the Mavericks.

The Nuggets, who are a game ahead of Portland and 1 1/2 games above Utah in the Northwest, have split the first two games of the trek. Most recently, Carmelo Anthony scored 29 points and Chauncey Billups poured in 17 of his 26 in the second half, as Denver thumped New Orleans, 101-88, in the Big Easy.

J.R. Smith added 16 points for the Nuggets, who have won six of seven overall and are now 19-18 on the road this season.

Denver will be without Nene for the second consecutive game tonight. The center was suspended by the league Wednesday for two games without pay for an incident in Monday's loss to Phoenix in which he head-butted the Suns' Louis Amundson and physically confronted and made contact with a game official after his ejection.

The Mavericks, meanwhile, are fighting for their playoff lives and currently lead Phoenix by 3 1/2 games for the eighth and final postseason berth in the Western Conference.

Dallas won the opener of a short two-game homestand by blitzing Golden State on Wednesday. Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry each scored 26 points in that one, leading the Mavericks to a 128-106 win.

Jose Juan Barea added 20 points and seven assists off the bench for Dallas, which has won two in a row and is now 26-8 as the host on the year. Gerald Green added 14 points, and Antoine Wright had 13 points in the win.