The Denver Nuggets knew they had their work cut out for them on the second night of a back-to-back, and their matchup against the Brooklyn Nets didn’t disappoint.

After going to overtime and winning against the Toronto Raptors the night before, the Nuggets defeated the Nets 144-139 in overtime tonight. This was an up-and-down scoring contest, and the Nuggets would not be denied in the fourth quarter and overtime. Nikola Jokic scored the game-tying basket with eight seconds to go, and then the Nuggets scored 19 points in the overtime period to outpace the Nets. They finally found a gear offensively that was unstoppable.

Initially, the Nuggets went down 40-27 in the first quarter as they struggled to get their legs under them. Over the next three quarters, they spent a lot of effort digging out of the hole created early by poor defense. Fortunately, Denver’s offense looked explosive for the first time this season, shooting 13-of-27 from three-point range and drawing 47 free throws as a team. The Nuggets physically overwhelmed the smaller Nets squad, led by Jokic, Aaron Gordon, and Russell Westbrook.

Jokic had another incredible stat line with 29 points, 18 rebounds, and 16 assists. The Nuggets fed him the ball consistently, and Jokic made great decisions every time down the floor. His offensive rebounding in key moments was big, and his defensive rebounding even more so. There’s nobody in the world better than Nikola Jokic at taking over every aspect of the game, and he continues to prove his worth.

Aaron Gordon had 24 points on 11 shots tonight, playing a physical brand of basketball throughout the evening and rarely settling for jumpers. Gordon was efficient, shooting 8-of-11 from the field and 7-of-7 from the free throw line. After a relatively slow start, he appears to have found his rhythm on the road.

But it was Russell Westbrook who truly made the difference tonight. Westbrook had 22 points off the bench, Denver’s first bench scoring performance of 20+ points since January of 2024. Westbrook also shot 10-of-10 from the field and 2-of-2 from three-point range. He was relentless and efficient tonight, adding five assists compared to just one turnover in by far his best performance of the season.

Those three, along with 22 points from Jamal Murray, 16 points from Michael Porter Jr., and 12 points from Christian Braun, highlighted an impressive offensive effort. The Nets aren’t going to be a good defensive team, but they’re pretty good offensively right now, hitting 20-of-52 from three-point range. They were willing to crank up the three-point variance and nearly won this game with hot outside shooting. Denver pounded the paint in response, but also hit some timely three-pointers, including one from Braun.

Survive and Move On

Much like the Raptors game, this win wasn’t pretty. The offense from Denver was certainly good, but the defense left a lot to be desired. Porter continues to struggle, as do Jokic and Strawther especially. Credit to Christian Braun for a solid defensive performance though, blocking two shots by flamethrower Cam Thomas and limiting the talented scorer to 26 points on 22 shots.

The first two wins of the Nuggets season being overtime wins against the Raptors and Nets isn’t a great indicator of Denver’s strength as a team. They’re both road wins so it counts for something, and the Nuggets are still woking through some kinks with their starters and bench unit. That being said, this was probably Denver’s best performance. Everyone got involved, Jokic had 16 assists, and when the going got tough, the Nuggets found their best player for a game-tying bucket to force OT.

If the Nuggets continue to struggle against bad teams though, getting through the season is going to be really tough. Already, Jokic has been Herculean through four games, and the consistency for each Nugget from game to game leaves something to be desired. Asking Jokic to do this for an entire season would be exhausting.

Right now, Denver just has to survive the early portion of their schedule. One game at a time and bank as many wins as possible. It will be difficult to develop Julian Strawther and Peyton Watson along the way, but Michael Malone still managed to play both 20+ minutes tonight. Dario Saric was (slightly) better. Murray was (slightly) more efficient. Porter found his way to four made three-pointers and did it efficiently, though there were still some questionable decisions made on both ends.

Now, Denver has two days off before they face the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday. The Timberwolves are also 2-2, and this will be an important game for the Nuggets to show some progress on the road trip. Can they match up better and beat a good team? We will see.

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