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The Denver Nuggets continue to rack up wins.
Denver defeated the Brooklyn Nets 122-117 on Friday night. Denver won for the sixth time in seven games. It was also the Nuggets’ fourth straight away win at Ball Arena, improving to 9-8 on the road and 20-10 overall.
“I’m very proud of our group for finding a way to win,” head coach Michael Malone said. “I think that’s the key to being a good team. You have to be able to win in different ways.”
Meanwhile, Brooklyn has lost five straight with 13 wins and 15 losses.
Jamal Murray had his best game of the season. He finished with 32 points on 11-of-19 shooting, nine assists, five rebounds, two blocks and just one turnover. 26 of his points came in the second half, and 16 of those came in the third quarter. This was his first 30 point game of the season.
“I was very impressed with his game tonight,” Malone said. “He was our Defensive Player of the Game as well. I felt like he gave his all. That was great to see him do.”
Meanwhile, Nikola Jokic made history, passing franchise legend Dan Issel as the Nuggets’ all-time leading rebounder. He secured a total of 6,631 boards as a Nugget, of which he finished Friday’s game with 11. He also had 31 points and seven assists against Brooklyn.
“We joke about it, but it seems like every night there’s a note like, ‘Nikola Jokic passed this guy.'” And then he had the same conversation with Dan Issel. When you do that, you know you’re doing the right thing,” Malone said. “We all realize how lucky and blessed Nicola is to be in Denver. He’s going to be a nugget for life, and we all know he’ll pass and go on to record many more. You will see it break.”
The Nuggets were efficient from the field, shooting 51.7 percent from the field and 42.3 percent from 3-point range. They only turned the ball over six times in total.
The size of Denver’s frontcourt quickly became an issue for Brooklyn. Jokic, Aaron Gordan and Michael Porter Jr. combined for 22 points in the first quarter, and Denver went on an 11-0 run. Brooklyn ended the period on a 21-8 run, with both teams tied at 28 points each.
Neither team could miss the second quarter. Brooklyn made 12-of-22 shots and Denver made 12-of-21 from the field. Denver went into the halftime break down 60-58.
Murray rallied in the third quarter with a series of tough jumpers, reaching 16 points by the end of the period. This allowed the Nuggets to win 16-6. However, Denver’s reserves checked in late in the quarter and became stagnant. The Nets narrowed their seven-point lead over the Nuggets to just two.
As the reserves continued to struggle, Brooklyn took a two-point lead early in the fourth quarter. Jokic then checked in and hit a hook shot and a 3-pointer. Brooklyn hung on until Murray made two difficult jumpers off the pick-and-roll to give Denver a three-point lead. The Nuggets took a five-point lead with 25 seconds left when Watson made a great cut from the left side and then a huge dunk. Brooklyn was forced to foul and Denver crossed the goal line with the win.
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