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.)

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Originally Published: December 16, 2024 at 11:11 PM MST