NBA: Nuggets and Mavs roll on, Jazz stutter again against Timberwolves

Denver and Dallas continue to slug it out in the battle to be the West's second best team and both earned solid wins on Monday night.

Carmelo Anthony outdueled Oklahoma Thunder's Kevin Durant as the Nuggets moved to 18-7 with a 103-92 victory. Anthony had 31 points on 12-22 shooting while Durant managed 32, going 9-20 from the floor. Denver blew the game wide open in the second quarter, took a 15-point advantage to the locker room at half-time and never looked back.

Meanwhile, the Mavs had to scrap to hold off the New Orleans Hornets to win 94-90 in Dallas. Chris Paul led the Hornets with 20 points and 16 assists but a big night from JJ Barea, who had 23 points on 10-13 shooting, helped the Mavs overcome a quiet night from Dirk Nowitzki. The big German had just 10 points.

But things did not go so swimmingly in Utah where the Jazz wasted a monster night from Deron Williams, falling to a 110-108 loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Williams poured in 38 points to go with 13 helpers but it was T'Wolves rookie point guard Jonny Flynn who had the final say, scoring the game-winning layup to cap a 28-point career night. It was the Jazz's second loss to Minnesota this season.