The Denver Nuggets lost last night by defeat, but were hoping to turn the Washington Wizards around tonight. Things seemed to be going well for Nikola Jokic who was dominating the ball early on. Unfortunately, they conceded forty-six points in the second quarter and were unable to recover. Jamal Murray took them back almost all the way in the final minutes, but a big night of Davis Bertans, Bradley Beal and referee Dannica Mosher was enough to clinch the deal. Nuggets cause another incredibly frustrating game to lose and lose 130-128
The Nuggets gave a boost to start the game, with both Gary Harris and Monte Morris returning in the series. Their defense was strong to start and they built up an early lead. The beginners really did the defensive work and Jokic dominated everything the Wizards threw at him early on. By the middle of the quarter, the Nuggets were up by double digits. The bank kept up the energy as the quarter progressed, and the Nuggets’ lead continued to grow. By the time it was over, the Nuggets’ lead had flown to seventeen.
The Nuggets attack stops with the bench to start the second that made the Wizards run. Denver got just five points in the first three and a half minutes of the quarter while Bertans drained three to three. Michael Porter Jr. got a few buckets to give some life to the Nuggets offense, but the Wizards still sued. Bertans only nailed three to the halfway point. Denver was able to stop the bleeding, but suddenly found themselves in a ball game being shot with Washington. To close out the quarter, the Nuggets just fell flat and gave up a 9-0 run, including a terrible defensive run to close out the half. Washington came all the way back and took a 70-64 lead after two.
After coach Michael Malone bumped a stationary bike into rage as he walked away at halftime, the Nuggets got back on it. Their offense tried to keep pace, but the defense was still suspicious to say the least. Eventually, both teams hit a groove near the center of the quarter, but the Nuggets were unable to close the gap. Jokic and Facundo Campazzo carried the offense a bit while Westbrook kept things going for Washington. The match again turned into a painful case of Jokic doing everything and getting no support (outside Murray and Campazzo). Denver’s bench hung to close the quarter while Joker rested, but after three, the Nuggets were still trailing by seven.
The Nuggets refocused for the fourth time and started with a 5-0 run. They would come as close as one point behind before Bertans hit another try. He led a run on Washington’s side and they moved back by nine. This prompted Malone to return to the appetizer to stop the bleeding they were doing, but also not reduce the gap. You could see that the team was tired. Bertans kept on fire, a new career sank in the ninth try and the air came out of Denver’s tires. The fact that they got a terrible whistle, including a blatant miss that Westbrook was off limits and eventually ended up in a Bertans try, did not help either. Denver snapped one last time with Porter and JaMychal Green scoring tries to pull the Nuggets within six with just under three minutes to go. They kept up the pressure to make it extremely strict in the last minutes. Murray still left inexplicably open and tied it up with a try with thirty seconds left. On the other hand, Bertans kicks his feet out and gets the dirty call and three free throws. He hit everyone, but Murray responded with a try of his own with two seconds to go. Beal got a foul with a tenth of a second left and hit both free kicks. Nuggets lose.