Cilic also lifted his career record in Zagreb to 22-

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HOUSTON -- The Denver Nuggets are already in playoff mode, even though theyre still fighting for a post-season berth. Arron Afflalo scored 26 points, Ty Lawson had 25 and the Nuggets continued their push up the standings with a 105-102 victory over the fading Houston Rockets on Monday night. Al Harrington added 15 points and Andre Miller had 13 assists for the Nuggets, who swept back-to-back games with the Rockets, the team that was directly behind them in the Western Conference. "Our awareness of where we are in the season is really starting to heighten now," said Afflalo, who went 10 for 16 from the field. "Before, we used to go out there and compete and play the games. Now, we have an ulterior motive almost, in terms of understanding playoff positioning. Thats good for a young team." Denver began the night holding the No. 7 spot in the West, one game ahead of the Rockets. The Nuggets have won four of their last five, and snapped a three-game road losing streak. "We had opportunities to give up on the game and we didnt do it," Denver coach George Karl said. "Its a huge win for us." Houston, meanwhile, was only one game ahead of Phoenix and 1 1/2 games ahead of Utah, who were both playing later Monday. Goran Dragic and Chandler Parsons scored 21 points apiece for the Rockets, who have dropped four straight after a four-game road winning streak. "We were right there," Dragic said. "We knew we had to get that game if we want to win a tiebreaker against Denver. We cannot think backwards, we have to think forward." The Rockets play at Dallas on Wednesday night, a virtual must-win game if they want to keep their playoff hopes alive. "We were sitting good a few games ago, and now were not sitting so good," Houston coach Kevin McHale said. "Weve just got to go in and take care of ourselves." Denver led 75-74 after three quarters, and the fourth was tight all the way to the end. The Nuggets took a 99-98 lead into the final 2 minutes, and Afflalo found Harrington with a wraparound pass for an easy layup with 1:19 left to make it 101-98. Parsons rattled in a jumper from the free-throw line, but with all the Nuggets standing on the sideline, Lawson hit a 3-pointer from the corner with 45 seconds left to silence the noisy crowd. "We couldve easily come in here and settled (for a loss)," Miller said. "It definitely showed some character, coming in here (and winning), especially against a team thats fighting for a playoff spot." Patrick Patterson hit a short jumper, and Luis Scola had a chance to tie it, but his runner in the lane rattled out with 6 seconds left. Afflalo, a 79 per cent free-throw shooter, split two free throws with 3.9 seconds remaining, giving the Rockets a chance to tie it. But Parsons desperation 3-pointer hit off the front of the rim, and Denver sent Houston to its fourth straight home loss, a season high. "We cant afford to play like this," Parsons said. "Were letting it slip away." Corey Brewer scored all 11 of his points in the fourth quarter, and the Nuggets finished 9 for 18 from 3-point range to win in Houston for the first time since October 2010. "We just played hard to the end," Brewer said, "and we were able to get one." Houston shot well at the start, led by as many as 11 in the first half and was up 51-44 at halftime. The Nuggets made 9 of their first 14 shots out of the break. Harrington made two 3s, and Afflalo scored in the lane to put Denver up 67-66. Courtney Lee swept in for a layup, and Houston moved back in front with 3:49 left in the quarter. The teams swapped the lead five more times in the quarter, and Denver took a one-point lead to the final 12 minutes. The lead changed hands 16 times in all before the Nuggets finally put it away. "Our mental toughness was pretty good," Afflalo said. "They gave us some tough hits. Every time we fought back, they would make plays." Notes: Rockets C Samuel Dalembert started for Camby and blocked seven shots, a season high. ... Scola had 14 points and 13 rebounds for his 100th career double-double. ... The Rockets went 8 for 29 from 3-point range (28 per cent). ... Houston matched its season-high scoring total in a first quarter (32). ... Miller had at least 10 assists for the 15th time this season. ... The Nuggets have rallied from double-digit deficits to win 10 games this season. ... Karl is guaranteed to finish with a winning record for the 20th straight season. cheap nfl jerseys .Y. -- Trevor Cooney and C. cheap jerseys . Miamis two-year reign was over. And Bosh almost sounded relieved. The Heat got rolled in the NBA Finals by San Antonio, losing in five games, the last three of them lopsided, and for the first time since 2011 there would be no championship parade in Miami. http://www.factorycheapjerseys.com/. Tanaka has certainly lived up to the hype this season, going 10-1 with an American League-best 2.02 ERA. The Japanese right-hander went the distance to win his fourth straight start on Wednesday in Seattle, as he held the Mariners to a pair of runs and six hits. nfl jerseys china . Victoria now has a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series for Canadas senior indoor lacrosse championship. Jeff Shattler had a pair of goals and four assists for the Shamrocks, while Scott Ranger, Karsen Leung and Mitch Jones chipped in as well. wholesale jerseys . Thea Culley, Brienne Stairs and Stephanie Jameson scored for the Canadians (1-1-3), who were already out of contention for a London Olympic berth in the six-country tournament.ZAGREB, Croatia -- Marin Cilic from Croatia overcame problems with his serve to win the Zagreb Indoors tournament on Sunday, defeating top-seeded Tommy Haas from Germany 6-3, 6-4. Fifth-seeded Cilic gained his fourth title in Zagreb and became the third Croat overall to win at least 10 career titles. Cilic also lifted his career record in Zagreb to 22-4, winning 20 of his last 21 matches at the event. Cilic -- champion here in 2009, 10 and last year -- struggled with his first serve in the opening set but played some great returns with a solid baseline performance. The 35-year-old Haas broke in the first game but then lost five out of the next six. Haas also wasted a break point forr a 4-2 lead in the second set, allowing Cilic to step up the pressure and gain a 5-3 lead.dddddddddddd Haas saved a match point, but Cilic made sure he used the second opportunity. "Its nice to be in the finals after the tough last year I had," Cilic said. "I played (under) great pressure." Haas in turn said Marin "played big points better." Cilics coach Goran Ivanisevic has 22 titles and Ivan Ljubicic has 10. Cilic and Haas are tied 2-2 in head-to-heads. Making the Zagreb final was Haas best performance this year, after he lost in the opening rounds in Auckland and at the Australian Open. Haas won his last title in Vienna last year. ' ' '