The Denver Nuggets bounced back from last night’s loss to defeat the Detroit Pistons 134-121.

Denver remained undefeated on the second night of back-to-backs, going 7-0 on the year in games with no rest the day before. For whatever reason, the Nuggets seem to play very well in these moments, highlighted by an impressive 47-28 third quarter tonight.

Nikola Jokic led the way with 37 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists. Jokic began the game with 16 points in the first quarter, hitting 4-of-4 from behind the three-point line. The first two shots for the Nuggets were Jokic threes, and he capitalized on drop coverage from Pistons big man Jalen Duren. This was just the fourth time in Jokic’s career (regular season or playoffs) that he’s hit four three-pointers in a quarter.

Jamal Murray also got going with 34 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Murray shot extremely efficiently, hunting his three-pointer in the second half and getting into an impressive rhythm. Murray added three blocks and a steal as well, getting involved on the defensive end and making some impressive highlight plays. This was likely Murray’s best game of the season, a culmination of a positive trend in his performances over the last few weeks.

Michael Porter Jr. also got in on the action with 26 efficient points of his own, going 9-of-14 from the field and 5-of-7 from three. He was aggressive rising up for shots out of dribble hand-off situations. Earlier in the season he was driving more frequently. Now, he’s trying to be more aggressive when he has an open three-pointer.

The Nuggets were busy all game trying to keep up with the Pistons perimeter shooting attack, giving up 38 points in the first quarter. There were slow perimeter rotations, transition baskets allowed, and a variety of pull-up threes from Pistons guards, namely Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, and Malik Beasley.

The defense tightened up throughout the game though, and the Nuggets got better on the perimeter rotations. Russell Westbrook was a key factor in that, as was Christian Braun. The physicality of the game really came out in the third quarter with the Nuggets imposing their will. The Pistons tried to get physical back at them with Isaiah Stewart and Ausar Thompson really trying to get into the Nuggets, but the Nuggets handled it extremely well with 47 points of their own, forcing some turnovers and capitalizing on mistakes.

This was the first true scoring explosion for Murray who had 21 points in the third quarter alone. He got going from behind the arc, got to the foul line, and even collected a steal and score to close the quarter. He ultimately finished the game with 34 points, his first 30-point game of the season and most since Game 7 against the Minnesota Timberwolves last year.

While the Nuggets had an excellent third quarter, a horrid fourth quarter forced Michael Malone to bring the starters back in. He was unhappy about the execution about displayed it clearly postgame.

“We messed with the game tonight. I’m just disappointed. We messed with the game tonight.”

Denver allowed an 18-4 run with Murray on the floor with Denver’s four primary backups tonight. The offense wasn’t clicking, and the transition defense was once again poor. When the starters came back in, the slide continued for a while with Pistons deep reserves raining down threes and forcing turnovers, running in transition.

Fortunately, the Nuggets were able to stabilize after a while. A big Michael Porter Jr. three-pointer and some Nikola Jokic free throws made things easier down the stretch.

Jamal Murray trending up

Over the last seven games since returning from a hamstring injury, Jamal Murray is averaging 24.7 points and 6.3 assists per game, shooting 48.1% from the field, 44.2% from three, and 90.1% from the free throw line. Outside of a blip against the Phoenix Suns on Christmas returning from a sprained ankle, he’s scored 20+ every night, averaging 2.8 stocks per game, and making clutch baskets in big moments.

This is the Jamal Murray Nuggets fans wanted to see at the beginning of the season, a talking point he’s well aware of.

“I just play basketball. I know what I’m capable of. I think people following the team know what I’m capable of,” Murray intoned postgame, some annoyance showing through at the early season reaction to his play.

“I think all of us [start slow],” Murray shared. From the start of the season until now, I think we haven’t been amazing, but everybody’s trying to find their click. Everybody’s trying to be more comfortable. I wouldn’t say it’s just me.”

He’s of course right to a degree. The Nuggets as a team often hit their stride around December or January. It’s a thing that happens every year. Murray’s importance to that trend is obviously notable, given his role and responsibility on the team. He has tried to become a more complete player rather than just a scorer, and the improvements as a point guard and additional steals/blocks are examples to that.

“For me, I’d love to make shots every night, man. I strive to make shots every night, but I can still try and impact the game if I’m not making shots…if people are going to talk about me not making shots, so be it. I know what I’m capable of.”

Murray’s clearly taken some offense to the talk, and to his credit, he’s improved on his end. His per game numbers have crept up closer to where they usually sit given the recent surge, and his ability to play with and without Jokic has helped the Nuggets find some lineups without their MVP center that can be successful night to night.

Now, it’s about maintaining this level of play consistently. Malone has been frustrated with Denver’s inconsistencies, but he did make sure to shout of Murray tonight for how he has played recently and how he’s handled things.

“If Jamal can continue to trend in that direction, he takes our team to a different level,” Malone shared.

“I know that everybody’s really riding Jamal hard right now. That’s not going to do him any favors man. The guy cares.”

Now that Murray appears to be back on track, let’s see if the Nuggets can string together some wins now.

Final Rotations