Not much has been easy for the Nuggets this season, even the double-digit wins.
Jamal Murray scored 21 of his 34 points during a 6-for-9 third quarter, giving them a 25-point lead that was just enough to survive Detroit’s late push in a 134-121 win on Saturday night at Ball Arena.
The Nuggets (17-13) improved to 6-0 this season on 24 hours of rest. Their latest back-to-back triumph came on the heels of a defensive nadir 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 beyond the arc for 26.
But the Pistons, winners of three straight coming in, have been remarkably adept at pulling off dramatic comebacks. They got it as close as seven late in the fourth after Denver got sloppy with the ball and complacent getting back on defense.
For the second consecutive game since Aaron Gordon reaggravated his right calf, Michael 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. By 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’s been great for us as a starter. What he does out there defensively, offensively, play-making, toughness, hustle, energy, I think he’s been a real positive addition. So that’s part of it. When Russell starts, we play really well. And also it was who we were playing, 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’ll have our hands full with.”
Cunningham and Ivey scored 17 points each in the loss. But it took Denver time to get defense into the game. The Pistons got to the rim with ease off the dribble throughout the first quarter, scoring 20 of their 38 points in the paint. Cunningham had 11.
But 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 a minus-seven during that stretch. Jokic’s first bench stint on Saturday was a minus-two, steady enough to keep a small deficit from getting out of hand. Other than Ausar Thompson’s filthy dunk over Watson as Jokic was preparing to check back in, Detroit’s diet of interior baskets ran out. Denver took a 67-61 lead by halftime, eventually remaining undefeated this season after leading at the break.
But first, the Nuggets needed one more spark to blow it open. Westbrook provided. After taking exception to an offensive foul call, he earned a delay-of-game warning while pleading his case. Then he took out his remaining frustration by hounding Cunningham, who was trying to get separation to receive the ensuing inbound pass in the backcourt. Cunningham got fed up and pushed off, handing possession back to Denver. Westbrook stomped past the Detroit bench, chirping with the enemy and egging on the crowd.
Cunningham and Isaiah Stewart each earned 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 last 3:10 of the third quarter. The exclamation point was a steal and dunk with five seconds to go. Denver led by 25.