Ty Lawson scored 21 of his 27 points in the decisive first half as the visiting Denver Nuggets scored 20 straight points in the second quarter and opened their season with a 115-93 victory over the NBA champion Dallas Mavericks on Monday.

Andre Miller scored 14 of his 18 points in the first half as the Denver guards were a combined 14 for 17 from the field in the opening 24 minutes. The Nuggets shot 57.4 percent in the first half.

Al Harrington also scored 18 and Danilo Gallinari added 15 for Denver, which has won three straight in Dallas.

Jason Kidd’s 3-pointer brought the Mavericks to within 47-41 at the 6:28 mark of the second quarter before Denver finished the half on a 22-1 run, including nine points by Lawson, to take a 69-42 lead.

On the day after Dallas raised its championship banner before losing to Miami 105-94, the Mavericks didn’t look a team ready to defend their title, especially in the first half when they were outrebounded 26-15 and committed nine turnovers.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 20 points for Dallas, which dug itself another big hole after it trailed Miami by 32 entering the fourth quarter Sunday.

The closest Dallas got in the third quarter was 23 and Denver led by as many as 33 before settling for a 97-68 lead after three.