The Denver Nuggets defeated the Charlotte Hornets 107-104 on Saturday night in a game that was much closer than it should have been.

After winning in Philadelphia the night before, the Nuggets completed the second night of the back-to-back with a solid win in Charlotte. There were certainly moments when Denver lacked focus, but they did just enough throughout the night to get the win.

Nikola Jokic was great in the clutch once again, scoring or assisting all 13 of the Nuggets points in the final 5:02. The Nuggets went to him over and over, and he delivered in a big way, including an offensive rebound And-1 with the Nuggets down by four points with 40 seconds to go. That cut the deficit to one after the made free throw, and then Jokic was fouled in the backcourt after collecting a defensive rebound. He put the Nuggets up permanently after another two free throws in the pressure cooker.

Jokic finished the game with an absurd 28 points, 13 rebounds, and 17 assists, setting the table over and over for his teammates. Without Russell Westbrook in the lineup, Jokic made a concerted effort to get his teammates involved throughout the evening, and that led to a high assist tally. Jokic also had four steals, and his defense was considerably better tonight than the night before against Philly.

With Westbrook out due to a sore hamstring, Christian Braun reentered the starting lineup and was dynamic the entire evening, imposing his will in transition against an undermanned Hornets squad. Braun had 19 points and nine rebounds at halftime alone. He finished the game with 24 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 9-of-15 from the field and 2-of-5 from three.

Jamal Murray had an up-and-down evening, turning in what was mostly a poor first half performance. He also was hunted by Miles Bridges down the stretch relentlessly as Bridges nearly captained the comeback for the Hornets in the fourth. Still, Murray made some big plays in the third and fourth quarter despite the struggles, finishing with 20 points and five assists.

The Nuggets as a whole simply couldn’t shoot threes tonight, going 7-of-37 from behind the arc (18.9%). Michael Porter Jr. shot 0-of-6 from deep. Julian Strawther shot 1-of-6. Murray shot 1-of-5. Aaron Gordon shot 0-of 4. It was a bad night overall for Denver’s outside shooting, and not because of anything the Hornets did. These shots were open and in rhythm for the most part. Perhaps the long road trip wore on the Nuggets by the end, and given that context, it’s impressive that the Nuggets were still able to win anyway.

With Westbrook and Peyton Watson sidelined, the Nuggets played Jalen Pickett and Zeke Nnaji off the bench in a surprise turn of events. Pickett hit a three-pointer but was mostly a non-factor. Nnaji showed out on the defensive end, collecting five blocks in 22 minutes and contested a variety of other shots. The veteran big man also had six points and three rebounds, struggling with his hands but showing that he’s still capable of great plays when guarding in space.

Overall, a win is a win, just like last night. On the second night of a back-to-back missing a couple rotation players, you take what you can get.


2-3 on the road trip

Despite the bounce back on the back-to-back set with wins in Philly and Charlotte, this was a relatively disappointing road trip. Denver’s defense throughout the year has been subpar. Against the first four teams on this trip, the defense reached a nadir point. Denver allowed 133, 129, 122, and 134 points on the first four games, and the overall level of engagement was substandard for a team with playoff and championship aspirations.

And yet, it’s five games, and they went 2-3. Taking care of business at the end of the trip saved what could’ve been a disastrous low point. Credit clutch play from Jokic, relentlessness from Braun, great offense from Murray and Porter in the first game, and just enough defensive stops in the second.

Denver’s now 30-19. On pace for 50 wins. It’s important to always remember that. They’ve done enough work to have a subpar road trip. They just couldn’t have a disastrous one, and it got close at the end.

Denver will come back to Ball Arena next week and play three games in four nights, the third game being on Thursday, February 6th. That’s trade deadline day, and there will be a lot of pressure surrounding the team up until that point. Trade deadlines can be extremely impactful on team morale and psyche, so it will be important to not make any sweeping conclusions about the Nuggets during their next home stand. Some of that can of course be said about this prior road trip too.

In the end, things could have been worse for Denver. They bounced back and won their last two games, even though it wasn’t pretty. Credit to them for staying together during that time, and credit to the coaching staff for steering the ship.

Let’s see whether the Nuggets can put that trip behind them and finish strong before the All-Star break.

Final Rotations