Despite using a flurry of strong defense the Denver Nuggets were narrowly defeated by the Washington Wizards 109-104 at Pepsi Center.
The ending of the game was a bit on the strange side. With just over 30 seconds left, the Nuggets pulled within three on a Jamal Murray jumper (104-101). As Nikola Jokic was heading back to the Nuggets end of the court, Wizards head coach Scott Brooks ambled out to the court. The two men bumped into each other and Brooks “embellished” the contact (in the words of Nuggets head coach Michael Malone). Technical foul was called on Jokic.
John Wall hit the free throw and essentially salted away the game for the Wizards. According to the NBA Pool report after the game NBA Crew Chief Derrick Stafford said, “He (Jokic) intentionally walked into Scotty Brooks on his way to the bench.”
This was an up and down game for the Nuggets, as they used an offensive flurry to begin the first quarter and raced out to an eight point lead. Led by Jokic – who scored a game-high 29 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists – the Nuggets offense was clicking.
Defense was the theme for the rest of the game, as the Wizards reeled the Nuggets back in and led by one at the half and again the third quarter. The Nuggets issues with turnovers played a big factor as the team ended up with a whopping 24. Jokic and Emmanuel Mudiay led the team with 8 and 5 respectively. The Nuggets struggled to get any consistency going the rest of the game as shots became more and more difficult.
Washington alternated between 7 and and 8 point leads down the stretch until the Nuggets made a run up until the Brooks/Jokic bumping incident. John Wall had a double-double 19 points and 12 assists and Bradley Beal led the Wizards with 20 points.
Nuggets go on the road and will face the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday.