LEAD: Nuggets rock winless NBA Champs Mavs

By Paul Levine Dec 27, 2011, 7:39 GMT

Los Angeles - Although it's early, the Dallas Mavericks are looking more like chumps than NBA Champs after back-to back blowout losses to open the season.

Ty Lawson poured in 20 of his 27 points in the decisive first half, and the Denver Nuggets rocked the Mavericks, 115-93 on Monday night in their season opener.

'It was pretty impressive the way we went about what we had to do,' Nuggets coach George Karl said. 'The pace of the game has been to our advantage against Dallas.'

Al Harrington and Andre Miller netted 18 points apiece for visiting Denver, which went on to a game-breaking 20-0 second-quarter run to take a commanding 69-42 halftime cushion en route to the lopsided victory.

German wunderkind Dirk Nowitzki scored 20 for Dallas (0-2), which shot a frosty 42 per cent and committed 20 turnovers leading to 24 points.

Clearly, the Mavericks are not where they want to be to start off the lockout shortened season. They fell behind by 35 points en route to getting roundly beaten by visiting Miami Heat in Sunday's season opener before suffering another carbon copy embarrassment from the Nuggets the following night.

'It's tough and it's frustrating,' Mavs forward Shawn Marion said. 'We're not comfortable with each other on both ends of the floor. We're still trying to learn each other's games and we kind of have a new team out there.

'No one said it was going to be easy. We'll have a target on our back every game, but once we buckle down and get that base down everything else we take care of itself.'

Dallas is 0-2 for the first time since the start of the 2006-07 season but finished 67-15.

Elsewhere: Golden State Warriors 99, Chicago Bulls 91: Monta Ellis scored 26 points, David Lee had 22 and Stephen Curry added 21 with 10 assists as the Warriors gave rookie coach Mark Jackson his first NBA career win.

Orlando Magic 104, Houston Rockets 95: Hedo Turkoglu scored 13 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, Dwight Howard had 21 and J.J. Redick added 20 off the bench, and the host Magic (1-1) posted its first win of the season while spoiling the Rockets head coaching debut of Kevin McHale.

New Jersey Nets 90, Washington Wizards 84: Deron Williams scored 23 points, Kris Humphries had 21 with 16 rebounds, and the visiting Nets rallied from 21 down in the first half to beat the Wizards in the season opener for both clubs.

Charlotte Bobcats 96, Milwaukee Bucks 95: D.J. Augustin scored 19 points, rookie Kemba Walker made two free throws with 9.9 seconds remaining, and the Bobcats rallied from 14 down to edge the visiting Bucks in the season opener for both clubs.

Indiana Pacers 91, Detroit Pistons 79: Roy Hibbert had 16 points with 14 rebounds, Tyler Hansbrough added 15 and 13 boards, and the Pacers pounded the visiting Pistons in the season opener for both teams.

Toronto Raptors 104, Cleveland Cavaliers 96: Jose Calderon had 15 points with 11 assists, DeMar DeRozan also scored 15, as the Raptors won their first game under new coach Dwane Casey in the season opener for both clubs.

Oklahoma City Thunder 104, Minnesota Timberwolves 100: Kevin Durant scored 33 points, Russell Westbrook had 28, and the visiting Thunder trimmed the Timberwolves to start the season 2-0.

Kevin Love had 22 and 12 rebounds for Minnesota, while Spanish guard Ricky Rubio finished with six points, six assists and five rebounds in his NBA-debut.

Sacrament Kings 100, LA Lakers 91: Marcus Thornton scored 12 of his 27 points in the final quarter, Tyreke Evans added 20, and the Kings opened their season by stunning the visiting Lakers.

Kobe Bryant scored 29 points for the Lakers, who dropped to 0-2.

New Orleans Hornets 85, Phoenix Suns 84: Eric Gordon made a successful New Orleans' debut, scoring 20 points, including the game-winning jumper with 4.2 seconds remaining, to shade the host Suns.

San Antonio Spurs 95, Memphis Grizzlies 82: Argentine ace Manu Ginobili scored 24 points, Frenchman Tony Parker had 15, and the Spurs trimmed the visiting Grizzlies in the season opener for both teams.

Portland Trail Blazers 107, Philadelphia 76ers 103: LaMarcus Aldridge scored 25 points, Gerald Wallace had 21 and the Trail Blazers slipped past the visiting Sixers in the season opener for both clubs.