Denver, CO
Jamal Murray leads another Nuggets fourth-quarter comeback, hits game-winner in Sacramento
In a season that has already been overstuffed with theatrics, the Nuggets saved their most dramatic finish yet for the most dedicated viewers, escaping Sacramento after dark with a 130-129 win Monday.
Denver blew an early 23-point lead and then overcame a 10-point deficit in the last 4:10 for its fourth double-digit comeback win in the fourth quarter this season. There were seven lead changes in the last 75 seconds, culminating with Jamal Murray’s game-winning midrange jumper with 8.6 seconds to go.
Murray’s magic trick
Murray’s uncanny ability to transform awful individual performances into timely heat checks and cold-blooded game-winners is one of life’s great mysteries. He pulled it off again in Sacramento, scoring 15 of his team-leading 28 points in the fourth. Late in the third, he had disappeared gingerly to the locker room for a brief stint before checking back in. Just three days earlier, he revealed that he’s been dealing with plantar fasciitis in addition to a hamstring injury that sidelined him recently.
No matter. He got himself going during Nikola Jokic’s rest minutes by knocking down a pair of 3s. Then Denver’s two-man game took over in the final minute. Murray created separation for an 8-foot teardrop with 52.2 seconds left to take a 125-124 lead; assisted Jokic’s only made 3-pointer of the night with 30 seconds left to reclaim a 128-127 advantage; then slithered around a Jokic screen on the last possession to get to his step-back.
The point guard made his last five shots after starting the game 6 for 21 from the field. Nine of his points came in the last 4:10, during the decisive 21-10 run.
Murray is slowly inching his stats back up. He’s averaging 18.4 points (within 0.1 of Michael Porter Jr.) and shooting 34.8% from 3. Those numbers looked much worse at the beginning of December. He has been Denver’s leading scorer in consecutive games, both wins. His on-brand clutch redemption Monday was the most reassuring sign yet.
Breakneck pace, defense optional
The Nuggets have a transition defense problem that’s much bigger than one game. But this one encapsulated it appropriately.
In a contested that was officiated inconsistently and executed sloppily, the Kings thrived on chaos more. They scored 30 fast break points, many of them uncontested while the Nuggets refused to run back after turnovers. Denver is allowing 18.2 transition points per game, the fourth-most in the league.
The Nuggets allowed 47 points in the second quarter alone to undo their clinical start. They committed weak shooting fouls on layups and jumpers. In the last four minutes of the frame, De’Aaron Fox started running through the entire defense for easy baskets.
All five Sacramento starters were in double figures at halftime, while Jokic was the lowest-scoring starter for either team, an indicator of his strange reluctance to return the favor to Domantas Sabonis, who frequently rammed into him in the post. Aaron Gordon’s bully-ball covered for Jokic in the first quarter, but eventually, the center’s passive approach caught up with him. The Kings came back in the blink of an eye with superior physicality and speed.
When Jokic played in drop coverage, he couldn’t do anything to stall Sacramento’s momentum. But Malone went to a zone in the fourth quarter, and it threw off the hosts’ rhythm just enough times.
Fox finished with 29 points. Sabonis went for 28, in addition to 14 rebounds and six assists. DeMar DeRozan drove past Jokic for an easy go-ahead dunk in the last minute. But as the last five seconds ran down, he fumbled a pass from Sabonis while cutting for what would’ve been another baseline dunk, forcing himself into a tougher fadeaway look instead at the buzzer. It was the first possession to end empty-handed for either team since Sacramento’s turnover at the 1:35 mark.
With Braun out, Westbrook starts
Christian Braun was ruled out an hour before opening tip with a lower back strain, ending a streak of 122 consecutive games played for the 23-year-old guard. That included playoff games. The last time he didn’t appear in a game was May 22, 2023, in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals against the Lakers. Braun now has eight DNPs in his three-year career. He had played in 153 of the last 154 games before Monday.
His first absence of the season created a new lineup scenario for Michael Malone to navigate, with Julian Strawther, Russell Westbrook and Peyton Watson each presenting viable options. Malone went with experience, playing Westbrook and Jamal Murray in a starting five together for the first time. Westbrook had a productive game, amassing an efficient 18 points, nine rebounds, 10 assists and three steals.
But to start him is to ask a lot of Murray as a 3-point shooter, and Murray has not shot the ball well this year. Through three quarters, the two guards had combined for one made 3-pointer. The Nuggets were feeling the effects of that. Westbrook was 0 for 3, even though he had more than compensated for Murray’s lack of production in other ways.
In a moment of restraint and maturity, Westbrook stopped himself from trying a fourth 3-pointer with 1:20 left, instead recognizing an open Jokic and feeding him at the foul line. The defending MVP scored an easy floater to give Denver the lead and set up the back-and-forth ending. (Jokic, in a footnote game individually, ended up with 20 points, 14 boards, 13 assists and three steals.)
Want more Nuggets news? Sign up for the Nuggets Insider to get all our NBA analysis.
Originally Published:
Denver, CO
Twitter reacts to another Bo Nix comeback vs. Texans
The Denver Broncos have made significant work of the fourth quarter this season. Denver has outscored opponents 80-26 in the final 15 minutes during their six-game win streak, which have led to some heart-pounding games from the Broncos this year. Denver has scored 96 points in the final 15 minutes this season, tied with the Green Bay Packers for the most in the NFL.
In Sunday’s win over the Houston Texans, the Broncos entered the final frame down 15-7, before promptly scoring a touchdown and two-point conversion to tie the game with just over 12 minutes left. Bo Nix then led a final Denver drive to kick the game-winning field goal as time expired. Sunday marked the Broncos’ fourth fourth quarter comeback this year, tied with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the most this season. Twitter lit up after Nix’s latest great escape.
The Broncos now have a short week to prepare for the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday Night Football.
Social: Follow Broncos Wire on Facebook and Twitter/X! Did you know: These 25 celebrities are Broncos fans.
Denver, CO
First memorial to Flight 629 bombing, one of Colorado’s deadliest mass murders, unveiled in Denver
There is a distinct before and after the night of Nov. 1, 1955, when a United Airlines flight exploded over a sugar beet field near Longmont, killing all 44 people on board in one of the deadliest mass murders in Colorado history.
There is before Susan Morgan lost her parents, Stewart and Anne, at 12 years old because a Denver man, Jack Gilbert Graham, put a homemade bomb in his mother’s suitcase.
Graham bought a life insurance policy as he escorted his mother, Daisie King, to the gate for United Airlines Flight 629 at Stapleton Airport. She unknowingly carried 25 sticks of dynamite, timed to explode after the Portland, Oregon-bound flight took off.
There is before Dave Benedict learned, at 3 years old, that he would never meet his grandparents, James and Sarah Dorey, because they were killed when a bomb exploded on their flight to visit him for the first time.
Now 70 years after the bombing of Flight 629, families of the 44 victims gathered at the former Stapleton control tower for the unveiling of Colorado’s first memorial to the tragedy.
“Today’s commemoration is not just about what happened in 1955, it’s about who we became because of it,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek told hundreds of people gathered at the FlyteCo Tower on Saturday morning.
It was also about healing, Benedict said. He thought this weekend would include a dinner, maybe, and was at a loss for words to describe what the ceremonies and events organized by the Denver Police Museum and dozens of other organizations and volunteers meant to him.
“The ability to listen to other people’s stories and to hear what carrying 70 years of unspoken pain has been like… we’re hearing that over and over again,” he said. “Very few of the victims’ children or spouses had any context in which to talk about this, to work through it or process it, so that’s happening now.”
In the decades after losing her parents, Morgan came to realize she also had lost her life as she knew it and who she thought she would become, she said.

But even knowing the darkness that became part of her life, Morgan told the crowd of families, first responders, investigators and court officials, she cannot wish that it never happened. That she had never created her “second family,” or viewed the world with clear eyes.

“I’m among a large group of people whose lives have been scarred by the same tragedy as mine,” Morgan said. “That sense of something shared is a remarkable thing.”
It’s not clear why it took so long to create a memorial to the bombing, although some officials on Saturday speculated the scattered nature of the victims’ families – only one, Daisie King, was from Colorado – played a part.
But each one had a story, former Denver Police Department Deputy Chief William Nagle told the crowd. Nagle read out name after name, describing the life behind each one.
Capt. Lee Hall, a World War II veteran who was planning to retire early. He left behind a wife and four children.
Helen Fitzpatrick, who was flying with her 13-month-old son, James, so he could meet his father and namesake while he was deployed in Japan.
They were restaurant owners, general contractors, car salesmen. Folks taking the first airplane trip of their lives.
“What is important now is that we tell the story of each of these 44 lives,” Denver Mayor Mike Johnston told the crowd.
Get more Colorado news by signing up for our daily Your Morning Dozen email newsletter.
Denver, CO
Denver mom turns backyard into emergency food pantry on Halloween amid SNAP benefit uncertainty
DENVER — A Denver woman turned her backyard into an emergency food pantry on Halloween, hoping to fill a need while federal food assistance remains uncertain.
Joanna Rosa-Saenz organized the grassroots food drive after hearing about food insecurity in her northwest Denver neighborhood.
“We live in America. We shouldn’t be hungry, we shouldn’t be hungry,” said Rosa-Saenz. “And I don’t want anyone on my block to be hungry.”
Denver7
Federal judges in two separate cases ruled Friday that the Trump administration cannot suspend Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits during the government shutdown.
The Massachusetts ruling came after about two dozen states sued the federal government, arguing the Agriculture Department’s plan to halt all SNAP payments starting Nov. 1 would unlawfully cut off aid to millions of low-income families.
The Agriculture Department had argued it could not legally tap contingency funds to keep the program running. But the judge disagreed and ordered the agency to report back by Monday on how it will fund benefits. Under the ruling, payments could still be temporarily reduced depending on available funds.
Around the same time, the Massachusetts decision was issued, a federal judge in Rhode Island delivered a similar ruling from the bench. That case was brought by cities and nonprofit groups, and the court likewise found the administration must use available funds to continue providing benefits.
President Donald Trump indicated his administration would comply with the rulings, but accused the courts of issuing conflicting opinions and is seeking more clarity on how SNAP should be funded.
National Politics
Judges say Trump administration can’t suspend SNAP benefits during shutdown
Despite the rulings, it’s unclear when and how much assistance will be given out for the month of November.
With the need still there, Rosa-Saenz opened her backyard to the public Friday afternoon and asked the community to drop off canned goods while trick-or-treating.
The emergency food pantry now holds essential items like canned and dry goods, personal hygiene products and baby items.
Denver7
Rosa-Saenz, a single mother of three, told Denver7 she understands the challenges many families are facing today because she is a former SNAP recipient.
“I remember having to stand in line for a food box, things like that,” Rosa-Saenz said.
But to get the food drive up and running, Rosa-Saenz knew she needed help. Several nonprofits joined the effort, including Lacy McDonald, executive director of Outer Haven, a nonprofit working to reduce youth inequities.
Denver7
“One phone call can turn into this,” said McDonald. “And this is just a little snippet, so think what we could do together as a whole city.”
Before trick-or-treating started Friday night, more than 900 pounds of food had been collected for Rosa-Saenz’s backyard.
“That’s what community is,” she said. “Community is stepping up, working together and really making unity in the community.”
Scripps News Group contributed to this report.
If you would like to donate, below is a list of donation locations:
- 4229 Irving St. in Denver.
- Open from Nov 1 through Nov. 10
- Donations can be dropped off from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. daily
- 5123 Chase St. in Denver
- Open from Oct. 31 through Nov. 2
- Please place donations at the end of the driveway
- Moonflower Coffee, located at 4200 W Colfax Ave. in Denver
- Open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily
These are the most needed items:
- Ramen, pasta, rice, cereal
- Canned tuna, chicken, beans, soup
- Canned fruits & veggies
- Peanut butter & jelly
- Baby food, formula, diapers & wipes
- Menstrual products, toothpaste & soap
- Denver7 Gives has created a campaign to help Coloradans struggling with food insecurity. Click on the form below and select “Help Fight Food Insecurity“ to donate.
-
Milwaukee, WI6 days agoLongtime anchor Shannon Sims is leaving Milwaukee’s WTMJ-TV (Channel 4)
-
News6 days agoWith food stamps set to dry up Nov. 1, SNAP recipients say they fear what’s next
-
Alabama1 week agoHow did former Alabama basketball star Mark Sears do in NBA debut with Milwaukee Bucks?
-
News1 week ago1 dead, 6 injured in shooting at Lincoln University homecoming festivities
-
Austin, TX1 week agoDia De Los Muertos Austin: Parades, Altars & Events
-
Politics1 week agoTrump to jet off to Asia as North Korea fires ballistic missiles and China trade questions loom
-
Seattle, WA6 days agoFOX 13’s Aaron Levine wins back-to-back Jeopardy! episodes
-
Culture5 days agoVideo: Dissecting Three Stephen King Adaptations