Nuggets move into eighth in the West

DENVER -- Kenyon Martin scored a season-high 30 points and the Denver Nuggets surged past the Golden State Warriors in the wild Western Conference playoff race with a 119-112 win Saturday night.

Martin also pulled down 11 rebounds, and J.R. Smith added 20 points off the bench, helping the Nuggets stave off a furious rally by the Warriors in the closing minutes.

The Nuggets moved half a game ahead of the Warriors for the eighth and final playoff spot and pulled within half a game of sliding Dallas for seventh place.

The Mavericks visit the Warriors tonight.

Denver also won the tiebreaker with the Warriors by virtue of its win, and a better conference record.

Carmelo Anthony scored 25 for Denver on 11-of-16 shooting, but his fellow All-Star starter, Allen Iverson, went four-for-20 from the field for 14 points.

Martin’s biggest shot was a buzzer beater from the left corner that made the score 115-110 with 1:11 left, and Baron Davis, who led the Warriors with 28 points, misfired twice on three-pointers in the final minute.

Stephen Jackson added 25 points for Golden State, Monta Ellis had 22 and Andris Biedrins 17.

Eduardo Najera’s three-pointer gave Denver a 108-96 lead with 6 1/2 minutes left, but the Warriors pulled to 109-106 on a breakaway slam dunk by Ellis with 3:13 left, setting the stage for a frenetic finish.

After frittering away an early 11-point lead, the Nuggets scored the last five points of the third quarter and the first 10 of the fourth, capped by Smith’s breakaway glide to the basket for a 98-86 lead.

Ellis scored three straight baskets to cap an 11-2 run that tied it at 76-76.