The Denver Nuggets continued to handle their business, taking their road blowout streak home with them and dismantling the injured Philadelphia 76ers 144-109. For the third game in a row, Nikola Jokic accomplished a triple-double in just 3 quarters with 27 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists. He dismantled the Sixers who had no answer for him all night. Julian Strawther came through for the bench with 23 points on 14 shots and Aaron Gordon added 19 points on just 7 shots as Denver shot 61.2% from the field and was never seriously challenged by the Sixers despite Tyrese Maxey putting up 28 points and 10 assists. Denver out-rebounded the tired Philly squad 51 to 26 and pulled away in the third quarter with their second 40-point quarter of the night to put the game away.
Jamal Murray tripped and turned the ball over to start the game, while Tyrese Maxey hit a turnaround for Philadelphia. Jokic was fouled going to the rim and made both free throws, then Philly blew two attempts at the rim while MPJ got a putback on a Murray miss and Westbrook got himself to the line as well. Eric Gordon made a 3 for the 76ers, Westbrook missed Jokic for a turnover, and Maxey and Murray both missed shots. Braun grabbed a rebound and had a tough finish, MPJ’s rebound led to a Westbrook-to-Jokic finish, but Eric Gordon had a corner 3 for Philly. Braun had free throws answered by a tough Maxey layup, but Westbrook’s transition 3 off a Jokic pass made it 15-10 Denver.
After a timeout, Drummond finished a paint shot and another Russ turnover didn’t hurt Denver but his rebound led to a Christian Braun dunk. George made a bank shot, Jokic hit a spinning hook in the paint, and MPJ had a putback of a Braun miss as Denver kept pushing the pace. Jamal Murray went coast-to-coast with a rebound to a layup, Maxey hit a running floater, and MPJ’s three rimmed out. AG came into the game and immediately hit a 3, Jokic finished a Russ pass at the rim, and Paul George’s three was answered by Aaron Gordon’s oop from Jokic. Braun and Oubre exchanged layups, Strawther missed a 3, Jokic buried one, and despite a late turnover by Murray that gave Reggie Jackson a bucket the Nuggets finished the first quarter up 35-27.
Jamal Murray made a technical free throw for a defensive three-seconds and then AG made a pair of his own. Maxey got to the line too and AG got back there as it was a lot of fouls early. Justin Edwards had a Philly 3, but both Julian Strawther and Peyton Watson hit Murray-assisted threes to make it 46-32 Denver. Watson airballed an 18-foot jumper the next time down, Drummond made a push shot the other way, and Jamal missed an open 3. Yabusele made free throws and Kelly Oubre stole the ball from Murray and finished at the rim to close the lead to 8. Strawther hit a key 3, the teams exchanged turnovers, and Maxey made a layup through a DeAndre Jordan foul. Mal missed another three, Maxey didn’t miss his and the lead was 5. Strawther made another 3, Jamal got fouled at the rim, and Jokic came back in the game at 54-44. Eric Gordon hit a three for Philly off a Drummond assist, answered by MPJ from the corner. Braun finished a transition bucket over Paul George, and Maxey and Strawther exchanged threes. George hit a jumper over Strawther, but Strawther made a pair of free throws in response as they kept betting to the stripe. MPJ and George exchanged buckets, Yabusele made a three, and Jokic finished a Russ pass to keep the lead at 13. Very little defense was played in the quarter but despite a three-point barrage from the Sixers it was Nikola Jokic making a couple of layups and MPJ’s paint scoring kept Denver up 77-67 after both teams scored 40+ in the second frame.
Maxey started the scoring for the second half, but Braun had a transition bucket and Jokic had both a block and a finish. MPJ made a corner three, Drummond dunked one but Denver had free throws from Braun and a transition bucket from Westbrook after a Jokic steal made it 88-71 Denver. The Sixers kept attacking the paint but MPJ made another 3 and Braun had a tough paint finish. Jokic had a 1-on-4 rebound and finish, Westbrook finished a Murray assist in the paint, and MPJ dunked after Yabusele made another 3. Russ had a great steal and finish, Maxey hit a three the other way, and then AG’s three made it 104-84 off Jokic’s 8th assist. The Sixers went to a zone but it didn’t help as Jokic continued to cut it up with a pass to Braun under the rim after a Yabusele dunk. Jokic buried a 3, then hit Aaron Gordon for a no-look lob to get his triple-double. Watson missed a finish but Jamal Murray made one and Denver was in complete control of the game after three, 117-94.
Drummond made a shot to start the fourth, answered by a floater from Strawther. Strawther and Edwards exchanged paint buckets, and then Edwards made a three for Philly. Ricky Council and Strawther swapped threes, and Aaron Gordon made a nice banked turnaround followed by his third 3 of the night for a 129-104 lead with 8 minutes to go. DeAndre Jordan made a pair of free throws and then dunked one home. Jokic took the whole fourth quarter off again, and Jamal Murray was out in favor of Jalen Pickett at the 6 minute mark, giving Denver’s key players some much needed rest in a blowout. Pickett assisted Strawther on a wonderful drive-and-finish, and the Hunter-Tyson-to-PJ-Hall transition oop put a final stamp on a wonderful game where Denver took care of business and won 144-109.
– Aaron Gordon does so much for the bench. He helps both the closing minutes with Jokic at the end of the first and third quarters as well as the non-Jokic minutes. One of the reasons Jokic has been able to take off the fourth quarters in the past 3 games is because of the efforts of Gordon and DeAndre Jordan playing off each other. AG’s recent ability to hit threes – he made three of them tonight – as well as his passing acumen is preventing teams from clogging the paint against him and Jordan, and the pick and rolls and screens he’s running with Strawther are clearing room for Julian to take full advantage of his offense. And any team that plays the shooters too close allows AG to get switched onto a smaller man and back them right into the paint. Tonight there were some zone looks that Jokic and AG busted easily – there’s no simple way to slow Denver’s varied attack. AG’s plus-minus in his past 5 games coming off the bench: +23, -1, +8, +10 and +10. Winning the AG minutes means Denver is playing his minutes both with and without Jokic correctly, and that’s a beautiful thing in January.
– Julian Strawther had himself a game. If anyone seems the beneficiary of the AG minutes the most it’s Julian Strawther. He’s been getting 8+ shots consistently since Gordon’s return, with 14 shots tonight, and whether it’s because the fourth quarters are blowouts or because Jamal and AG are consistently looking to feed him he has been taking and making the kinds of shots that Denver needs him to become fluent in as they get into the second half of the season. His defense has been better as well – fewer fouls, more staying in front of his man so he can stay on the court and the Nuggets can get their bench transition game working. The Nuggets need their 7th and 8th guys in the playoff rotation to be confident and productive in their roles and both Watson and Strawther have been growing into those roles more and more in January. For Denver’s expectation of a deep playoff run this is a beautiful thing.
— RG 📷 (@RyanGreeneDNVR) January 22, 2025
