The short-handed Nuggets’ silver linings playbook: hang around, drill some timely 3-pointers and control the glass — even without a true center in the paint.
It worked for three quarters Friday night, but the Nuggets, playing at home for the first time since Christmas Day, simply didn’t have enough talent on the floor to hold off Atlanta.
The Hawks, taking advantage of 19 Denver turnovers on the night, used a fourth-quarter surge to run away with an 110-87 victory.
It was Atlanta’s first win in Denver since 2019.
An eight-point surge, sparked by 3-pointers by Tim Hardaway Jr. and Hunter Tyson, gave the Nuggets a 75-71 lead late in the third quarter, and the fans were blowing the lid off Ball Arena. But Onyeka Okongwu canned a 27-foot, 3-point, momentum-changing jumpshot to cut Denver’s lead to 75-74.
That was the beginning of the end. Atlanta outscored the Nuggets 36-12 in the final 12 minutes. Plus, the Nuggets’ scrappiness from earlier in the game evaporated, in part because they are a tired team after a long, seven-game road trip.
“I saw a really, really tired group,” coach David Adelman said. “That’s going to happen in the NBA, (coming back) from a seven-game road trip. They gave it everything they had in the third quarter to get back into it. But it does happen in the NBA. We know that. No excuses, ‘Blah, blah, blah,’ but it does happen.”
The Nuggets trotted out the unlikely starting lineup of Hunter Tyson, Peyton Watson, DaRon Holmes II, Christian Braun and Jalen Pickett. Guard Jamal Murray, who racked up 33 assists in Denver’s two gutsy wins to end their East Coast road trip, was given the night off while dealing with illness and an ankle injury. An injury bug has been running through the Nuggets’ locker room for about three weeks.
Star center Nikola Jokic was in attendance, dressed nattily in a grey suit. But Jokic, out since Dec. 29 with a hyperextended knee and bone bruise, could only cheer from the bench. The Nuggets don’t want to rush him back, but a return before the end of January hasn’t been ruled out.
Watson led the Nuggets with 25 points and 11 rebounds over 34 minutes. He shot 9 of 19 from the floor. But that wasn’t enough to overcome a rash of turnovers. Watson said “absolutely” when asked if being forced to work with a makeshift lineup contributed to the slew of turnovers.
Before the game, Adelman said, “We have to get shots up to the rim. You don’t have to shoot it well. But it allows you to get back and set your defense.”
That didn’t happen often enough and was a major reason why Denver got blown out.
The Nuggets’ hot shooting kept them in the game early. They shot 61.1% (11 for 18) in the first quarter, including shooting 5 of 9 from behind the 3-point line. The highlight was Hardaway’s four-point play with 4 minutes, 25 seconds left in the quarter. Hardaway drained a falling-away 3-pointer, was fouled by Vit Krejci, and sank the free throw to give Denver an 18-17 lead.
Atlanta figured to blow out the road-weary Nuggets, but led just 30-28 after one quarter. The Hawks stretched their lead to 58-50 at the half, even though Denver dominated on the glass and gave up just one offensive rebound.
What killed Denver in the first half was sloppy ball handling. It turned the ball over 12 times, leading to 13 Atlanta points. By the end of the night, the Hawks converted Denver’s 19 total turnovers into 18 points.
PHILADELPHIA — These are the stories nine Nuggets bench players and their coach will tell decades from now about a peculiar basketball game in Philadelphia.
It was a random enough game, one of 82 on a Monday in January, that it will fade from collective memory eventually. Just not from theirs. David Adelman will tell the story of “one of the best NBA wins I’ve ever been a part of in my life,” as he described it in the locker room, his stoic demeanor giving way to emotion that might’ve been verging on tears. “That was (freaking) special, man.”
He’ll reminisce about strategizing for a seemingly insurmountable matchup without seven of his usual rotation players, without his entire starting lineup, without Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. He’ll tell the story of his staff’s edict to “keep five guys in the paint and try to win the ball,” because the Nuggets didn’t have a healthy center, and they were playing against one with an MVP trophy. He’ll recount how he urged them to “play fast” and hunt easy buckets to avoid the limitations of a half-court offense. How he had no choice but to use all nine available players, including two who knew only garbage time in the NBA until a few days earlier.
He’ll compare it to a February 2020 win over Utah, where the Nuggets had only seven guys at their disposal, also on the second night of a back-to-back. But one of the seven was Jokic.
“This one is different,” Adelman said. “This one is unique, because our best player didn’t play. … When they’re older, 20 years from now, they’ll probably grab a beer and talk about this game.”
Bruce Brown will tell the story of his game-winner that never actually went through the net. It was a fitting climax, first requiring the Nuggets to get a defensive stop while they were down one point with a six-second clock differential in overtime. They collapsed on 76ers rookie sensation VJ Edgecombe in the lane. Peyton Watson disrupted his driving layup. Spencer Jones blocked Joel Embiid’s tip-in attempt, tumbling over Edgecombe. While the bodies hit the floor, Brown was waiting at the free-throw line. The ball caromed to him for a one-man fast break.
Keep five guys in the paint and try to win the ball. Play fast. “I didn’t have to call a timeout,” Adelman said. Embiid tried to chase Brown down for a block, but the ball had already touched the backboard when the Nuggets’ nemesis got to it. Goaltending was called with 5.3 seconds left.
“I was in the perfect position,” Brown said. “I knew everyone was in the paint, trying to go rebound. I was just like, I’m going. There was only one person back.”
He’ll tell the story of human nature. How it worked to Denver’s advantage. How he’s sure that a Philadelphia squad with Embiid, Edgecombe, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George in the lineup overlooked this game after winning four in a row. How Brown could hardly blame them because he’s been doing this long enough to know that it’s almost unavoidable in an 82-game season. He was the most experienced player available for the Nuggets. Their other eight players had combined for 94 NBA starts before Philadelphia, and only 45 before this season.
“People are expecting us to lose. We have nothing to lose, right?” Brown thought. “Go out there and hoop. We’ve been on the other side before, where other teams sit people out, and the same thing happens. So I knew they were probably gonna take us a little light. … When I’m on the other side, sometimes that happens, right? The other team just comes out playing extremely hard, and you’re like, eh, bench guys; they’re not the starters.”
Jalen Pickett will tell the story of how he quieted his older brother. “He’s my biggest critic,” the 6-foot-2 point guard said, “so I can’t wait to see what he says tonight.” They don’t get to see each other often during the NBA season. This was an exception, a reunion in Philly. Pickett, who finished his college career at Penn State, scored a career-high 29 points to lead the Nuggets. He added five rebounds and seven assists.
“He was just absolutely in control of this basketball game,” Adelman said. “With all those great players on that court, he was the guy tonight.”
Pickett’s first three years of pro hoops have been an emotional roller coaster. Drafted in the second round in 2023, he became a focal point of the tension between former general manager Calvin Booth and coach Michael Malone. Palace intrigue encroached on his confidence at times. But a 7-for-11 outside-shooting performance in Pennsylvania? Three step-back 3s over the 7-foot Embiid? It was the best Pickett has felt on a basketball court since “probably back in college, having the ball every possession.” He’ll tell the story of the Nuggets’ nickname for one night: “We were calling ourselves the Denver G League.”
Hunter Tyson will tell the story of his go-ahead 4-point play, the crux of a 14-0 fourth-quarter run after Denver trailed 98-89 with 11 minutes to go. He scored half of his 14 points during that run. Perhaps no sequence was more crucial to the momentum than his contested rebound and pull-up 3-pointer in transition, which he buried while getting fouled. “We were just a bunch of dogs tonight,” he said afterward.
He’ll tell the story of the bench’s comradery and patience. Tyson was drafted five spots after Pickett in 2023. Seven of Denver’s nine available players have suited up for the Grand Rapids Gold, a developmental G League affiliate. Eight of the nine were either drafted by the Nuggets outside of the top 20, or signed by the Nuggets out of college as undrafted free agents. Before this game, Tyson had played 50 total minutes in the first 35 contests of the season.
“He might be our hardest worker,” Pickett said.
“We’re blessed with the opportunity to be in the NBA, to be in this position. So I really try to keep a good perspective about things,” Tyson said. “And maybe even if I’m not playing as much as I want, just try and get a little better each day.”
He’ll tell the story of how that patience was a virtue on the final play of overtime, when Maxey released a potential game-winning floater. It threatened the three hours of maximum effort Denver had devoted. But it rolled off the rim as time expired, igniting a spontaneous celebration of hugs.
“Dude, I swear it sat there forever,” Tyson said, laughing. “I was really glad it didn’t go in.”
Zeke Nnaji will tell the story of Adelman’s relentless encouragement, which Nnaji says dates back months before the one game when it was most necessary. “He says that we’re so deep, we’re so talented, that on a random night, it could be anyone’s night. He’s constantly hammering that message home,” Nnaji said.
“I think it’s really DA. … He believed. And we all believed.”
Nnaji is the third-longest tenured Nugget behind Jokic and Murray, but his four-year, $32 million contract has been widely ridiculed as a waste of money on a player who mostly rides the bench. For at least one night, none of that mattered. Nnaji was Embiid’s equal, amassing 21 points, eight rebounds, two steals and two blocks off the bench as Denver’s fourth-string center. He’ll tell the story of how it felt like a “normal” game, if only because the reserves are so accustomed to playing pickup together on the practice court. They need the reps.
“We play with each other so much,” he said. “Especially when everyone (in the starting lineup) is healthy, we’re always playing with each other. … Opportunities like this are so rare.”
Adelman will tell the story of Denver’s pregame shootaround someday, once he can get through it without choking up. “This morning, walking through (the plan) with nine people,” he said, “it was really special.” He had to stop himself there.
The nine also consisted of Julian Strawther, DaRon Holmes II and Curtis Jones. Others who contributed behind the scenes will also tell the story of this game, though. The team security guard who ran down the back hallway, ecstatic. The starters who sat out and cheered from the bench, including Aaron Gordon, who sat at his locker room stall perusing the box score afterward with a proud smile. The player development coaches who work closely with Denver’s reserves. As two of them walked through an empty arena toward the team bus, one declared, “Shoutout PD,” lifting the Modelo can he was carrying in a toast to themselves.
When Nnaji tells the story, he’ll always return to Pickett’s deadeye shooting. “There were a couple of times Pick hit a step-back on Embiid, and I just go crazy whenever he hits one of those,” Nnaji said.
Pickett will tell that story, too. His children and grandchildren will hear that one.
“Oh my gosh,” he said, perhaps still in some disbelief. “I’m gonna tell ‘em I was giving MVPs buckets out there.”
That shadow over the court was Aaron Gordon’s. Suddenly, the Nuggets felt his absence as painfully as their opponents usually feel his presence.
He would have been perfect for a crunch-time possession late Saturday night and the unenviable task of guarding DeMar DeRozan with a game on the line.
David Adelman instead asked for one stop from Spencer Jones, the eager 24-year-old wing who has prospered as a defensive specialist on a two-way contract.
He had started the game in place of the injured Gordon as well, but this was a step up in stakes. The Nuggets trailed 123-120 after a successful two-for-one bucket with 29 seconds to go, allowing them to play out a defensive possession instead of fouling. They had no margin for error, but they had a chance.
Jones does have one glaring flaw in his defensive game: He’s foul-prone. And against a savvy veteran scorer like DeRozan, discipline with hand placement is especially vital. Jones didn’t pass the assignment this time. He reached into the cookie jar, and DeRozan immediately drew the contact while burying an improbable midrange jumper. Ballgame.
Gordon and the Nuggets are seeking second opinions on the severity of his right hamstring strain before determining how much time he’ll miss, Adelman said Saturday, 24 hours after Gordon slipped on a drive to the basket in Houston and then gingerly walked off the court. The injury could result in another prolonged absence for a Nuggets starter, with Christian Braun already on the shelf for the next five weeks.
“We’re trying to make sure we get the correct answer to make sure we’re doing the right thing,” Adelman said. “… Obviously, that was concerning last night with Aaron.”
And Jones was a major variable in the defensive equation of replacing Gordon during Denver’s back-to-back this weekend. He was impressive in Houston, matching up on a full range of players from Reed Sheppard to Alperen Sengun.
On Saturday, he was a minus-18.
“I’m concerned about anybody guarding DeRozan,” Adelman said when asked whether he was concerned about the foul potential of the Jones matchup. “He’ll learn from that. He got his hand in there. That’s what DeMar does. He’s always been an artist with that. He’s one of the best scorers in the modern era. A lot of it is because of that, and of course, it comes at a really key time. So Spence will learn from it. I have nothing but full confidence in him.”
Baptism by fire is the only way sometimes, in Adelman’s view. After spending weeks lauding his team’s depth, the injury bug is forcing him to use it even more.
“We’re going through this process with a couple of guys out, really three guys out,” he said, referring also to Julian Strawther’s recent back pain that has kept him inactive the last four games. “So we want to see what each guy can do. We played Jalen (Pickett) a little bit. We started him (against Indiana). Zeke started in New Orleans. We wanted to give Hunter a little bit of run.
“As we go through this time, if guys are out — and some are, as you know — we’ll try different lineups to see what we can do. … I can’t play an eight-and-a-half man rotation every night. So I’ll get creative with it as best I can.”
Denver’s three healthy starters showed out on the second night of the back-to-back. Nikola Jokic amassed 44 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists. Jamal Murray continued to be a steady source of offense, with 23 points and nine assists to just one turnover. Cam Johnson continued to do all the little things that prompted Adelman to defend him when he was slumping — and also went for his first 20-point game as a Nugget.
But with Peyton Watson and Jones slotted in as starters, the bench got outscored 48-20. In a home loss to the Bulls last Monday, the margin was an even uglier 66-9. That happened with Gordon in the lineup.
“I think 12-4, it’s not the real picture. I think we are not that good,” Jokic said Saturday, laying it on perhaps a little too thick. “I think we need to be much better if we want to do something big. Yes, we’ve played better. We look better. But I think we need to consistently, every night, every possession.”
“Those guys are really important to what we do. They’re very talented players, CB and AG,” Johnson added. “Very gritty guys. Contribute a lot to the game. But it’s part of the league, you know? It’s part of the game. Eighty-two games is a long season. Sometimes, things happen. I think we have the depth that we can (trust the) next man up and rally and find ways to maximize the guys available on the floor.”
If Gordon sits out an extended period that corresponds with Braun’s recovery, getting stops will be Denver’s biggest bugaboo. The team’s defensive rating when those two players share the floor is an elite 109.5 in 241 minutes. It’s 118.9 when they’re both off the floor. The Kings turned the ball over only six times on Saturday. Russell Westbrook scored 15 fourth-quarter points to fuel their win, which snapped an eight-game skid.
Not having Braun meant one more matchup adjustment that wasn’t available to Adelman as Westbrook heated up.
Then there was DeRozan, getting the best of Jones, who has done an admirable job this season but could continue to face heightened challenges if Gordon is out for a while.
“They’re both, of course, really good defensive players for us,” Jokic said. “And I think we miss CB in all the split action. … He’s setting flares or rip screens for the guys, and always finding the right spot to be and getting us easy points, getting us to the rim. AG, especially when we play against smaller lineups, he’s a really good low-post player. … He’s just putting a lot of pressure on the defense, and offense.”