The Mavericks’ 107-106 loss to the Nuggets on Wednesday night represented the team’s fourth in the last six games.

It also marked another example of what’s become a frustrating pattern for Dallas.

The Mavericks held a late lead -- this time 106-101 with 2:20 remaining -- only for it to disappear in the final minutes amid a game-ending scoring drought.

Improvement in “clutch” time -- what the NBA defines as the final five minutes of a game within five points -- and better execution was a key focus for the Mavericks during practice Thursday, the day before starting a back-to-back against the championship-contending Lakers and 76ers.

“We’ve just got to tighten things up and we’ve got to be better,” Carlisle said. “We have a tendency to get loose at times, and with the way the games are today in the NBA with so many close ones, you can give points away.”

The Mavericks lead the NBA in offensive rating with 115.3 points per 100 possessions, a mark 1.3 points higher than second-place Houston and on pace to be the most efficient in NBA history.

The Mavericks rank among the league’s top three in offensive rating in the first through third quarters, too: third place in the first quarter (113.5), tied with the Lakers for third in the second quarter (117.1) and first place in the third quarter (123.7).

Dallas’ production drops to 108.2 points per 100 possessions in the fourth quarter, 14th in the league.

And it gets worse in “clutch” time, when the Mavericks are scoring 91 points per 100 possessions (28th).

The issue persisted Wednesday night after the Mavericks used a 3-pointer from Dorian Finney-Smith and a jumper from Tim Hardaway Jr. to take a 106-101 lead with 2:20 remaining.

Their final possessions played out like this:

Finney-Smith stepped out of bounds after Nuggets center Nikola Jokic trimmed Dallas’ lead to 106-103.

After Denver cut its deficit to one point with two free throws from Jerami Grant, Doncic missed a stepback 3-pointer.

Then Doncic missed a driving layup and Delon Wright missed a hurried three-point attempt as the shot clock expired.

The Nuggets called a timeout with 23.2 seconds left and soon after, Jokic pushed past Finney-Smith in the paint for the game-winner. The Mavericks didn’t manage a shot on their final possession with 7.9 seconds left.

“We had two, three good shots,” said Doncic, who didn’t score in seven fourth-quarter minutes. “The ball didn’t go in. It’s tough to lose those games.”

Similar Mavericks droughts occurred against Oklahoma City on Dec. 31 (Dallas led 101-98 with 1:21 remaining and lost, 106-101) and Charlotte on Jan. 4 (Dallas led 103-97 with 1:39 remaining before the Hornets tied the game at 103 in regulation and won, 123-120, in overtime).

The Mavericks won’t point to last-minute offensive struggles as the lone reason for their slide.

Factor in inexperience on a team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2015-16, frequent playing time wearing on Doncic, who played 37 minutes against the Nuggets, and what Carlisle said was his team “faltering” at the end of quarters before the fourth.

As the Mavericks face a back-to-back against the Lakers -- first in the Western Conference -- and 76ers -- fifth in the Eastern Conference -- to close their six-game homestand, Doncic had a simple thought about how to reverse Dallas’ late-game issues.

“Practice shots,” he said. “And make them.”