Every game is its own journey, and for the Denver Nuggets, Monday night was an adventure.
Denver ended up winning 137-132 in overtime to the Portland Trail Blazers, converting a double-digit comeback attempt in the fourth quarter through ramped up intensity and physicality, steady shotmaking, and clutch performance from the starting unit. It was Denver’s ninth win in a row, their longest of the season and tied for the longest of the Nikola Jokic era.
“We just had to stay with it,” David Adelman emphasized clearly. “It was a weird game, energy wise. And let’s just be honest: they made 25 threes, people. It wasn’t like we didn’t shoot it well, and they’re 29th at three point percentage, and they made 25 threes.”
The Nuggets had to endure some incredibly hot shooting from the Blazers throughout the evening. Toumani Camara, Jrue Holiday, and Matisse Thybulle – all known as defensive guys – combined to make 17 three-pointers in this game. Some of them were open, but a significant portion were shots the Nuggets wanted them to take. Sometimes, players just get hot and stay hot.
“On one hand, it’s like, don’t overreact,” Cam Johnson shared postgame. “But on the other hand, it’s like, we gotta get out to shooters, not let them get easy looks.”
“When we started contesting and kind of made them think about it and make them work for it, they kind of start missing,” stated Nikola Jokic. “That was the difference of the game, I think.”
The Blazers made 24 three-pointers for the first 42 minutes of the game, but in the final six minutes of regulation and the five minutes of overtime, they made just one total. Denver’s defense ratcheted up in a big way, mostly allowing free throw attempts for Deni Avdija and co. as the only consistent offense late. It was a better effort for Denver later as they tried to make up for lost time early on.
Offensively, the Nuggets shot just 12-of-38 from three themselves but still managed 37 assists compared to 12 turnovers. They shared the ball well and created open shots almost every single time down the floor. The threes didn’t drop until the important moments though, when Cam Johnson hit a three late in the fourth quarter and then Aaron Gordon hit two big three-pointers, one near the end of regulation and another at the start of overtime. Gordon also hit another corner jumper with 26 seconds to go in regulation, but his toe was on the line, allowing Avdija to tie up the game in regulation on a drive to the rim.
“He hit some huge shots for us today, and he shot them with confidence,” Johnson said regarding Gordon. “I think most of his misses from three probably came early, right? It came early. So for him to make those few shots down the stretch, the one with his toe on the line, was also a huge shot…It shows that he puts a work in, and we all have confidence in him as a shooter, and he has confidence in himself.”
Gordon finished the game with 23 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists, shooting 4-of-9 from three-point range in the process. His misses were early, but he locked in exactly when the Nuggets needed him and hit the ones that counted late.
“It’s become a weapon,” Adelman said of Gordon’s three-point jumper. “Was throughout the playoffs last year, and I believe it will be this year, too.”
Nikola Jokic, not to be outdone, had a paltry 35 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists, 5 steals, and 2 blocks, a truly incredible stat line. That combination of numbers (or anything to exceed them) has never been produced before in NBA history.
It’s easy to take his dominance for granted, especially when he’s not getting a ton of foul calls. Jokic shot just 15-of-31 from the field to go with four total free throws. It wasn’t his most efficient or effective performance, but he was relentless in this game in a way that matters. Early on, the Nuggets as a whole weren’t as engaged defensively as they needed to be, but Jokic helped ratchet up that intensity. The Nuggets had a reasonably low defensive rating with their starters on the floor, and Jokic in the middle protecting passing lanes and grabbing boards was a big reason for it.
Jamal Murray ended up with 20 points and 7 assists despite starting slowly. He hit a big three in overtime on an extra pass from Gordon that helped put Denver up basically for good.
Cam Johnson’s impact was felt throughout, executing Denver’s defensive scheme well while putting in 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists. Quietly, Johnson has become Denver’s most stable defensive option, guarding in 1-on-1 settings while rotating quickly to prevent easy baskets.
“I think Cam’s biggest improvement through the whole season is that…he’s really guarded one-on-one better,” Adelman shared. “His natural gift has always been his team defense, his IQ his off the charts. He gets it.”
“He’s just been such an impactful player as he got back from the injury and got his rhythm. He’s been great. He’s our starting [small forward] for a reason. Such a good basketball player all-around.”
The Nuggets are continuing to trend in the right direction. Their work in the clutch is back to being a high standard for excellence in which their confidence is high. Their defense has layers in how it can lock in and make plays. Their offense executes at an incredible level, and they’ve won nine in a row because of it.
Now, the question is: can they win 10 games in a row for the first time in Nikola Jokic’s career? The last time the Nuggets franchise won 10 games in a row was in the 2012-13 season when the team won 15 in a row. The Nuggets have won nine games in a row twice before with Jokic, Murray, and Gordon. They did it once in the 2022-23 championship season but lost the streak to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder when Jokic sat out the 10th game and the Nuggets lost by two points. It will be interesting to see if Denver will play just about everybody on Wednesday against the Memphis Grizzlies, even if they don’t have to.
Whatever the case, the Nuggets made enough plays to win against a Blazers team that tried hard on Monday. Can they keep it going? We will see.
