Denver, CO
Recap: Denver Nuggets use big games from Nikola Jokic and Russell Westbrook to beat Brooklyn Nets 124-105 – Denver Stiffs
It was a big night for the Denver Nuggets against the Brooklyn Nets. Nikola Jokic and Russell Westbrook team up for triple doubles and put the pedal to the metal in the second half which got the Nuggets a big lead. Brooklyn fought back for a bit, but Denver’s duo was too much for them to handle. It wasn’t all good news with Jamal Murray leaving the game after the first half with knee soreness but the Nuggets were still able to get a blowout and win tonight 124-105.
The Nuggets were a bit slow to start while the Nets were active which let Brooklyn get out to a 7-2 lead. They hit their first six shots with Ben Simmons leading the way but Denver kept within striking distance as the quarter progressed. The Nuggets tightened the screws and went on a little run to get back within three right around the halfway mark of the first. Both teams had their shortcomings. Denver kept turning it over, the Nets kept attempting alley-oops that they didn’t convert. The Nuggets tied it up at 24 with just under four minutes to go. Julian Strawther continued his run of good play early, he got five points almost immediately after coming off the bench and that resulted in Denver’s first lead. The Nets closed out the quarter on a 7-0 run and led 36-32 at the break.
Count the basket pic.twitter.com/G3i0U0BEYZ
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) January 11, 2025
The non-Jokic minutes were clunky to start the second and resulted in an early Michael Malone rage timeout. The Nuggets got more focused after that but started committing fouls so they stayed behind. Neither team could buy a bucket for a solid three minutes and around the seven and a half minute mark Jokic checked back in. He and Russell Westbrook worked their two man game to get some points while the Nets started to hit some threes. Denver took the lead with about five minutes left in the half and the Nets called timeout. Brooklyn went ice cold while Denver started scoring which led to an extended 16-2 run and got their lead up to eight. The Nets responded with the half winding down and finally started scoring again. They got the lead down to three with a minute to go but the Nuggets closed strong and went to the locker room leading 65-59.
The Jok and Russ connection pic.twitter.com/ZDcTO7mJdV
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) January 11, 2025
The second half opened with some troubling news. Strawther was in the starting lineup for Murray who was out with knee soreness. Despite missing their starting point guard, the Nuggets were knocking down threes and quickly got up by double digits. Michael Porter Jr. started to get hot and pushed Denver’s lead up to seventeen after burying a three in Simmons face. The lead kept climbing with the talent difference between the teams becoming evident, halfway through the quarter Denver led by more than twenty. The Nets were able to stop the bleeding heading down the stretch of the third but weren’t stringing together stops. They kept working though with the Nuggets looking a little too comfortable with their lead. A good close to the quarter put Brooklyn trailing 94-79 after three.
What a pass from Brodie pic.twitter.com/v3kYRfX8sa
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) January 11, 2025
Brooklyn kept the Denver off the scoreboard for the first two minutes of the quarter while knocking down a pair of threes and just like that the lead was back under ten. That made for an early return to the game for Jokic but the Nuggets were still struggling to score and had just three points in almost four minutes. That trimmed Denver’s lead to just five. Joker got them going on offense again and kept Brooklyn from closing the gap more. Westbrook was aggressive in getting to the basket but the Nets got enough baskets to keep Denver from running away. They couldn’t stop fouling the Nuggets though which made the lead creep back up into double digits. The wind started coming out of the Nets sails as they resigned to jacking up threes. Westbrook delivered multiple pinpoint passes in a row into the paint which got him a triple-double to with Jokic’s. With two minutes left Denver was up by sixteen and Westbrook delivered the dagger with a corner three shortly after to cap off a fantastic game from him. Nuggets win big 124-105.
Electric pic.twitter.com/JVDsV6h9kh
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) January 11, 2025
There will be no Westbrook slander
When the Nuggets signed Westbrook there naturally was some reason for concern. He hadn’t played at nearly the level he did during the twenty-teens and appeared to be on the full decline. He’ll never get back to his MVP form at this point in his career but Russ has been absolutely vital to this team. Next to Jokic he’s become an absolute force and also expands Nikola’s dominance even more with his ability to get Joker the ball in great spots. He’s also been a major steadying force with Denver’s bench unit and is rounding into a form where you feel comfortable with him being the primary weapon on offense when Nikola’s off the floor. I can’t wait to see him in the playoffs when the energy goes to a whole new level.
Just hope for the best for Jamal
It’s obviously concerning when Murray leaves the game with any injury, but when the injury is knee soreness I think all of Nuggets Nation holds their collective breath. Murray was really starting to round into form these last couple weeks and it will hurt Denver if he has to miss extended time. Coach Malone didn’t sound overly concerned and said after the game Murray pulled himself because the knee just wasn’t feeling right. Hopefully that’s all it is. On a night where the Nuggets were playing against a team that is more interested in lottery balls than Ws it didn’t hurt to be extra cautious. Moving forward, with the way Westbrook is playing right now and with Jalen Pickett looking more and more like an NBA player the Nuggets should absolutely give Jamal as much time as he needs to feel right.
For most food manufacturers, it makes more financial sense to bake, brew, cook or create their product somewhere where the square footage is a little less expensive, like a business park, and to sell it where the rent – and the foot traffic – is higher.
Kent Beidel, who owns a string of mountain-town ice cream parlors called Sundae, did the opposite when he opened his newest and, by far, his biggest location in downtown Denver.
“We wanted to be right in front of people and hear them say, ‘Oh my god, they make the ice cream right here,’” he explained. “It’s backward … it’s hard. But it’s unique, and it’s really cool.”
Sundae opened in early June in a 5,100-square-foot space that includes a retail shop, a waffle cone-making “theater” where people can watch the staff turn out fresh cones, a pint-mixing classroom and a commercial kitchen – visible to customers on three sides through glass windows – that could one day supply multiple stores around Denver.
Beidel is betting those attributes will help the business stand apart from the competition in Denver, where there are already several big names making and selling scoops in multiple locations.
But that’s not the only gamble he took. Sundae is located on Sixteenth Street, the 44-year-old pedestrian mall that has become both a symbol of the city’s urban decay since the pandemic and a beacon of hope for its future after a $175 million renovation.
“Sixteenth Street is interesting,” said Beidel, who has watched it change over the past year since he first signed his lease at 1600 Glenarm Place. “It’s coming back. It still has a way to go, but we are seeing momentum start to build. Even in the last month, the foot traffic and the feeling downtown has perked up. … We are getting great feedback.”
To help, the Denver Downtown Development Authority — as part of a much larger business incentive plan — loaned Sundae $750,000. “It’s a loan,” he said. “We have to pay it back. … But we couldn’t have done this location without that support.”
Beidel has been in the food business for 22 years. Before ice cream, he was the founder of Loaded Joe’s, a restaurant and coffee shop staple in Vail. But in 2016, he sold Loaded Joe’s and took over two former Marble Slab Creamery locations in Vail and Edwards, rebranding them as Sundae. In 2020, he opened a third shop in Glenwood Springs.
“That was our first chance to build from scratch and decide what it should look like,” he explained, adding that Glenwood, which includes a kitchen, eventually began making ice cream for Sundae’s next two locations in Basalt and Snowmass.
To make the ice cream, Beidel said he employs five pastry chefs to create recipes. So, rather than using cheesecake flavoring, for instance, for cheesecake ice cream, Sundae uses all the same ingredients you would use to make real cheesecake.
The cheesecake, by the way, is among Beidel’s favorite flavors, but Salted Cookies & Cream and Caramelized Banana are two of the most popular with customers. Classic chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry are also top sellers – “and always will be,” he added.
Next month, Beidel hopes to open the classroom, where people can learn how to make ice cream and then whip up some of their own flavors to take home. And down the road, he plans to open more locations.
But in the meantime, he’s focused on downtown. “Let’s say Denver does really become vibrant again. We have a great product and a great following in the mountains. So, it’s just a matter of time down here.”
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Denver, CO
Denver Country Club caddie earns full-ride Evans Scholarship, becomes first in family to attend college
DENVER — What started as a summer job has turned into a life-changing opportunity for Denver-area student Vanessa Olivar.
The 18-year-old Denver Country Club caddie has earned the prestigious Evans Scholarship, a full tuition and housing scholarship awarded by the Western Golf Association to caddies who demonstrate strong character, academic achievement, financial need and a strong caddie record.
Watch Bradey King’s story on how Olivar persevered to nab this scholarship in the video below.
Denver Country Club caddie earns full-ride Evans Scholarship
Olivar is one of 15 students from Colorado to receive the scholarship this year and will attend the University of Colorado Boulder this fall.
When she first heard about caddying through her high school’s assistant principal, Olivar said she wasn’t sure it was the right fit.
“I didn’t know anything about the game of golf,” she said. “At first, I was a little doubtful and nervous, but I thought it would be a great summer job. I quickly found out that it was more than just carrying a golfer’s bag.”
Over the past three years, Olivar learned the responsibilities that come with the job, from carrying clubs and providing yardages to building relationships with members and fellow caddies.
“I learned a strong work ethic, and the relationships that I built through caddying have really shaped who I am today,” she said.
Her dedication paid off when she received the news that she had earned the Evans Scholarship.
“I got that flag saying, ‘Congratulations,’ and I was so excited,” Olivar said. “Words couldn’t express how excited my family and I were for this great opportunity that I worked so hard for over three years.”
The scholarship carries even greater significance because Olivar will become the first person in her family to attend college.
“I’m a first-generation college student,” she said. “Coming from immigrant parents, I kind of had to navigate this world by myself.”
Her parents immigrated to the United States when they were 18, and Olivar said their sacrifices inspired her to pursue higher education.
“Being able to tell my parents they don’t have to pay for my college takes that weight off their shoulders, but also mine,” she said.
Western Golf Association officials say Olivar exemplifies the qualities the Evans Scholarship is designed to recognize.
“The scholarship is based upon four principles: Their caddie record, their academic record, their financial need, but really what’s most important is their character,” said Brian Wilkinson, the Western Golf Association Director at Denver Country Club. “Vanessa expresses the great character and leadership that we’re looking for in young women and men.”
At CU Boulder, Olivar plans to major in public health with a minor in business before pursuing dental school.
She said the opportunity has changed the trajectory of her future.
“I knew I wanted to go to college, and I wanted to have a further education,” Olivar said. “I just didn’t know how I was going to do that. I didn’t know caddying was eventually going to change that for me. It’s a scholarship that has changed my life forever.
Denver7
Denver7 | Your Voice: Get in touch with Bradey King
Denver7’s Bradey King reports on the entire sports landscape in Colorado, including Denver’s pro teams, but is always looking for stories off the field and in the non-professional ranks. If you’d like to get in touch with Bradey, fill out the form below to send her an email.
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