Thanks to a great chance to make the piece – and a poster dunk by Nikola Jokic – the Denver Nuggets were able to secure a 118-112 victory over the Bulls in Chicago. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray played a hero while the Nuggets lead of 15 points almost slipped away from them until that was not the case.
Jokic led the Nuggets to a win, just shy of its ninth triple-double of the season, with 39 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists on 17-of-28 shots off the field. Not only was Jokic a great game, but he was massive in the fourth quarter as he scored only 17 of his 39 points in the final quarter.
The three Nuggets big three from Jokic, Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. all had fairly solid matches. Murray scored 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field and shot 4-out-8 from outside the arc. Porter also had a solid points night with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting off the field, 2-of-4 from three to go along with 15 rebounds, which tied a career high.
Will Barton III also scored in double figures with 14 points and the Nuggets were the only other player to do so besides the big three. As for the Nuggets banking unit, they struggled when Chicago’s second unit outscored the Nuggets (39-17) by 22 points. PJ Dozier and Vlatko Cancar provided some solid minutes off the bench, but Denzel Valentine and Thaddeus young just had their way with the Nuggets second unit.
It was ultimately all for not, as the Nuggets did it late to pick up their 19th win of the season. Denver is now 19-15 on the season with two more away games – Milwaukee and Indiana – ahead of the star season.
The Nuggets started their 4-game game strong with victories over the Thunder and Bulls, but will have a much tougher showdown against the Bucks tomorrow night. On the second night of a rugby game, the Nuggets play with home money, no matter what happens tomorrow night in Milwaukee.
One thing is for sure and that is that Denver had to find a way to win this game in Chicago, and that’s exactly what they did. Another unreal performance by Nikola Jokic, who is still playing at an MVP level.