The Denver Nuggets did things the hard way on Friday night and still weren’t able to come out with a victory. After falling behind by 24 points early in their third NBA Cup game, the Nuggets came all the way back to take a late lead in front of their home crowd before falling to the Dallas Mavericks 123-120.
This game also marked the return of Nikola Jokic, who missed three games for personal reasons while his second child was born. Jokic picked right up where he left off before the absence, finishing with 33 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists. Jokic’s full repertoire was on display as he was scoring at will and creating looks for his teammates all night.
The rest of the Nuggets didn’t bring their best to a must-win game in the context of the NBA Cup. Jamal Murray shot just 4-for-16 and scored 14 points while Michael Porter Jr. was benched down the stretch. After the game, Nuggets head coach Michael Malone was disappointed in the supporting cast for not lifting Jokic up during his Herculean performance, according to Jake Shapiro of Denver Sports 104.3.
“I think a lot of guys exhaled cause Nikola’s back,” Malone said, per Shapiro. “They expected Superman to carry the day, and that’s not fair. Do your own job. Everybody’s gotta do their job. Nikola obviously showed once again why he’s the best player in the world. Misses a week of basketball, three games, and goes out and gets a triple-double.”
The Nuggets fell short at the end largely due to the heroics of Naji Marshall and P.J. Washington. Marshall finished with a career-high 26 points and Washington added 22 to lead the Mavericks, playing without Luka Doncic, to a big win that keeps their NBA Cup hopes alive.
Nikola Jokic shines, supporting cast falters in Nuggets loss
Nikola Jokic was back to his floor-raising ways on Friday night, dragging the Nuggets back into the game despite a massive deficit and almost no help from the players around him.
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However, in the end, the Nuggets couldn’t get the job done on the defensive end. Part of that may have come down to a few curious lineup decisions by Michael Malone. For a few defensive possessions late in the game, Malone left Jamal Murray and Russell Westbrook on the court while Christian Braun, arguably the Nuggets’ best perimeter defender, sat on the bench. The Mavericks continued to attack Murray with Naji Marshall and P.J. Washington to get the crucial buckets they needed down the stretch.
Jokic continued to produce all the way through the end of the game, coming up with multiple clutch baskets and a huge offensive rebind that set up a 3-pointer by Murray to give the Nuggets a chance at the very end. However, it wasn’t enough, and now the Nuggets are likely out of NBA Cup contention with their second loss in group play.
Jokic’s conditioning might have been the most impressive part of his performance in this one. The MVP big man played 39 high-quality minutes on Friday after not having played a game in nearly two weeks, spending much of that time away from the team. Despite that, he was still able to come through in a big way.
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