The Nuggets hold off a late comeback from the Pistons in a 134-121 victory

Not much has been easy for the Nuggets this season, even when winning by double figures.

Jamal Murray scored 21 of his 34 points during a 6-for-9 third quarter that gave Denver a 25-point lead that was just enough to survive Detroit’s late push in a 134-121 victory Saturday night at Ball Arena.

“I should never have had to put my starters back in and that’s a shame. But happy for the win as you can see,” said a sarcastic Michael Malone. “I’m really excited.”

The Nuggets (17-13) improved to 6-0 this season after 24 hours of rest. Their latest back-to-back triumph came on the heels of a defensive nadir on Friday, when they gave up 149 points to the Cavaliers.

Nikola Jokic went for 37 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, carried by a 4-for-4 start from the 3-point line. Michael Porter Jr. went 5-for-7 from beyond the arc for 26.

But the Pistons, winners of three straight coming in, have been remarkably adept at pulling off dramatic rallies. They pulled away in the fourth quarter and got as close as seven with 2:35 left after Denver got sloppy with the ball and complacent to get back on defense.

“We messed up the game tonight,” Malone said. “I’m just disappointed. We messed up the game tonight. We tell (our players) during the fourth quarter that the team has come back many times this year from big deficits and won. They never quit. It’s a hard-playing team . . . And everything we told them—they want to run, they want to crash, they want to leak—we just let them do it.”

For the second straight game since Aaron Gordon aggravated his right calf, Malone rounded out his starting unit with Russell Westbrook over Peyton Watson, who had replaced Gordon at the four during a 10-game absence earlier in the season. Opting to go smaller, Denver instead pushed Porter to the four.

“It’s not written in stone (that Westbrook will start every game with Gordon out),” Malone said. “… Russell has been great for us as a starter. What he does out there defensively, offensively, playmaking, toughness, hustle, energy, I think he’s been a really positive addition. So that’s part of it. When Russell starts, we play really well. And that was the one we played too, with Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland. One of the elite backcourts in the NBA. … Cade Cunningham and (Jaden) Ivey, that’s another really potent backcourt that we’re going to have our hands full with.”

Cunningham and Ivey each scored 17 points in the loss. But it took Denver time to get the defense into the game. The Pistons easily got to the rim off the dribble through the first quarter, scoring 20 of their 38 points in the paint. Cunningham had 11.

The second unit managed to set a different tone. In their previous eight games, the Nuggets had won Jokic’s rest minutes by 12 cumulative points, never finishing worse than minus-seven during that stretch. Jokic’s first bench effort Saturday was minus-two, steady enough to keep a small deficit from getting out of hand. Aside from Ausar Thompson’s dirty dunk over Watson as Jokic prepared to return, Detroit’s broom of inside baskets ran out. Denver led 67-61 at halftime and eventually remained undefeated this season after leading at halftime.

But first, the Nuggets’ starters had to check back in during the final stanza, after the worst bench effort in the past few weeks.

“It’s 30 games in. It’s maybe finding different guys that you can trust out there,” Malone said, later adding that Denver’s struggles are more than “a young guy problem.”

“And Aaron being out obviously ruins your rotations and all that,” he said. “But just find a group of guys that are able to go out there and do the right things for as long as possible. We have that at times. We have that from game to game, we have it from quarter to quarter, we’ve got it from half to half. But it’s just been too inconsistent, and that’s why we’re 17-13.”

Westbrook’s turnover in the fourth played a role in Detroit’s run, but he had also provided a significant spark earlier. After taking exception to an offensive foul call, the veteran point guard received a delay-of-game warning while pleading his case. Then he took out his remaining frustration by chasing down Cunningham, who was trying to get separation to receive the ensuing inbounds pass in the backfield. Cunningham got tired and pushed off, giving possession back to Denver. Westbrook stomped past the Detroit bench, chirping at the enemy and egging the crowd.

Cunningham and Isaiah Stewart each picked up technical fouls in the next few minutes. Murray seized the momentum and scored 13 of the Nuggets’ points during a 20-6 run in the final 3:10 of the third quarter. The exclamation point was a steal and dunk with five seconds left.

“(The Pistons) just got us going so we answered the call, that’s all,” Murray said. “If you go watch the game, you can go see (who was talking). But like I said, they got us going. Russ got it going and we never looked back.”

Originally published: 28 December 2024 at 21:55 MST