The Denver Nuggets appeared to be spiraling down a similar road as previous clutch time faux pas’, but timely shots by Jamal Murray and an excess of free throws saved the day.
The Nuggets defeated the Utah Jazz 128-125 on the second night of a back-to-back, a matchup that was much closer than it should’ve been but a massive sigh of relief regardless. It’s been a while since the Nuggets have won a close game, and this one was stressful for Nuggets fans all evening as a result.
Murray led the way with 45 points and 8 assists, taking over at various points throughout the game to hit impossible shots. From fallaway jumpers out of bounds to stepback threes to tough drives to the rim and mid-range, Murray put together an incredibly impressive scoring display. He shot 13-of-19 from the field, 8-of-13 from three, and 11-of-12 from the free throw line in one of his best games of 2026.
Sidestep.
Pump fake.
Pivot.
Splash.Jamal Murray up to a game-high 22 PTS and 8 AST 🔥 pic.twitter.com/trH1ihtlKs
— NBA (@NBA) March 3, 2026
After the game, Murray told Altitude’s Katy Winge that he was looking to extend his range a bit more tonight because of the way the Jazz packed the paint. That was certainly true. With several Jazz bigs out due to injury, the Jazz played Kyle Filipowski and Oscar Tshiebwe all 48 minutes at centers and a variety of guards and wings at power forward.
With the Nuggets absences of Aaron Gordon, Cam Johnson, Peyton Watson, and Spencer Jones, so Denver decided to play big to counter. There was very little size to utilize against Nikola Jokic and Jonas Valanciunas, who started together today though only shared the floor for just 11 minutes of game time. Yet in that time, the Jazz were very conscientious about shrinking the floor and crowding the bigger centers.
As a result, Murray took a variety of tough shots from outside of the paint, and he made a high number of them. It was a truly impressive shotmaking performance on a back-to-back in a moment of extreme need for Denver.
There were moments when Jokic and the Nuggets dominated on the interior, but by and large, it was a slog for the Nuggets in the paint tonight. Despite having a clear size advantage, the Nuggets struggled to generate clean looks consistently. Jokic was frustrated for most of the evening and even got into foul trouble, but the Jazz were doing their best to battle against the much bigger and stronger Jokic. He didn’t handle things particularly well either, though he finished with a stat line of 22 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 blocks, including one in the clutch.
In the end, it wasn’t Jokic’s best game, but the pressure he and the Nuggets applied to the paint consistently put the Jazz in foul trouble in the fourth quarter. The Nuggets were in the bonus early in the fourth, and the Jazz couldn’t stop fouling while trying to hold position and protect the rim on various drives from Murray.
The Nuggets attempted an absurdly high number of free throws compared to the Jazz, who put up several shots from behind the arc in the quarter. The gap in free throws should never be 21-3 in a quarter regardless of allegiance, but the Nuggets put so much pressure on a smaller team overall that the referees felt the need to call it.
Free throws attempted in the 4Q:
21 — Nuggets
3 — JazzDenver wins by three. pic.twitter.com/k8UX2tx0Zh
— StatMuse (@statmuse) March 3, 2026
Murray shot 12 total free throws, Jokic shot 11, and Valanciunas shot five. In total, the Nuggets went 32-of-35 from the free throw line tonight. The Jazz still got to the line 26 times themselves so it wasn’t an insanely drastic difference; however, the fourth quarter totals emphasize a dam that finally broke in Denver’s favor in that regard. They applied a ton of pressure to the paint, and it finally burst in the fourth quarter.
All five Nuggets starters finished in double figures with Valanciunas getting 13 points, Christian Braun getting 11, and Julian Strawther finishing with 15. Denver’s efficiency as a whole against the undermanned Jazz was pretty impressive, though their defense struggled.
Jokic in particular was a major negative defensively until the final important play of the game, blocking Keyonte George on a play that was initially called Jokic’s sixth foul. The call was challenged and reversed, though many question whether it should’ve been. Jokic contacted George with his off-arm on the way to the basket, a sneaky tactic he’s often gotten away with in the past.
Outside of that play though, it was one of his worst defensive performances of the season. The Nuggets struggled to make up for his poor lateral movement as players like George, Filipowski, and others drove past him on the way to scoring at the rim consistently. Denver desperately needs players like Gordon and Watson back in the rotation to help make up for some of these weaknesses Jokic is starting to show consistently down the stretch.
Ultimately, a win is a win. The Nuggets got it done in the clutch, even if they had some help. So many things have gone against them over the past 40 games that it’s okay to accept a bit of help every now and then when it presents itself. That help won’t show up often in the coming weeks and months, so Denver should cherish it while it exists.
Hopefully, injury reinforcements return at some point. They won’t fix everything, but perhaps the Nuggets can get out of this emotional funk when their emotional leader in Gordon returns to the court.