Denver, CO

Recap: Denver's starters come to play, defeat Pacers 117-109 – Denver Stiffs

Published

2 years ago

January 14, 2024

Recap: Denver's starters come to play, defeat Pacers 117-109 – Denver Stiffs

The Denver Nuggets defeated the Indiana Pacers 117-119 behind a concerted effort from Denver’s starters on the night they gave Bruce Brown his championship ring. Three Nuggets had 25+ points for only the sixth time since 2011 according to Denver announcer Chris Marlowe, and that complete offensive performance was enough to defeat the Pacers, who were missing Tyrese Haliburton. Nikola Jokic missed just one shot to post 25 points, 12 rebounds and 9 assists. MPJ had 7 made threes as well as 8 rebounds and 5 assists, Murray had 25 and 8, and Aaron Gordon added 20 points. Bruce Brown had a team-high18 points for the Pacers as well as 6 assists but their team effort could not match Denver’s. The two teams will get a rematch next week when Denver visits Indiana.

Made it official in the Mile High 💍
Welcome back, Bruce! pic.twitter.com/gwViia4xfZ
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) January 14, 2024

Game Recap

Bruce Brown received his ring from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to thunderous applause and chants of “Bruuuuce” and then was mobbed by his ex-teammates. And the the game started! Jamal Murray made Denver’s first two buckets, then had an assist on a tough Aaron Gordon finish through contact. Buddy Hield and Bruce Brown both made layups, but Murray ran the offense early and his pass to MPJ for a three made it 9-6 Denver. Hield hit another layup but Jokic had a dunk in transition to force a timeout from Indiana. Denver was active in transition early on both makes and misses by the Pacers, but a few Denver misses and Indiana finishes at the rim made it tied at 14 halfway through the quarter. The Jokic-to-AG dunk was automatic on back-to-back plays, but a few silly turnovers hurt Denver early. Jokic made a couple of paint buckets, then a nice assist to Reggie Jackson, but Indiana feasted at the rim to keep pace with Denver’s great shooting. Obi Toppin buried a three for Indiana though and the teams were tied at 28 after one.

Throw it up ✈️ pic.twitter.com/pwKmuUMtDA
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) January 14, 2024

Indiana started the second quarter scoring and Malone challenged the second foul of the game on Jamal Murray early. Denver won the challenge and then Mal buried a stepback jumper. DeAndre Jordan got called for a tech protesting a screening foul they called on him, his third, bringing Jokic back in early near the 10 minute mark for an immediate assist to Murray in the paint. It was a whistle-fest that slowed the game to a crawl and brought boos from the crown, but Jamal’s three tied the game back at 35. Porter hit a transition three assisted by Nikola Jokic to tie Wilson Chander for 7th all-time in Denver history, but was denied on a layup his next time down. The teams traded buckets but mostly the refs just blew whistle after whistle after whistle, and Jokic had to sit halfway through the quarter with 3 fouls also. Gordon had to play center, and hit a bank finish after MPJ’s third 3 of the half to give Denver the lead back 43-42. KCP hit a three of his own, then had a traditional 3 point play. Myles Turner got his third foul call, and Denver took a six point lead, but the Nuggets struggled to get defensive rebounds and kept the Pacers close. MPJ hit another three as Reggie Jackson and Jamal Murray handled the playmaking, but Bruce Brown kept showing this was his building at one time too and his buzzer-beating layup over Jamal cut Denver’s lead to just 60-57 at the half.

As chief ref Rodney Mott’s crews have called the most fouls per game this season. With 24 games under his belt, his crews have called 43.6 fouls per game on average.
Those games have been the 2nd lowest PPG total among all crews at a combined 225.9. https://t.co/jOL0Z3mX41
— Evan Spellman (@okayed) January 14, 2024

Buddy Hield made the first two buckets after halftime for Indiana, answered by Jokic with one, but Indiana kept getting the offensive rebounds that killed Denver in the first half. Gordon and MPJ both made buckets but Hield was on a heater early and it took a Jokic under-the-basket finish and a great Jokic-assisted MPJ bucket to tie it at 71. KCP hit a three, answered by Jalen Smith, and MPJ rattled in a three of his own for a 6 point Denver lead. MPJ caused a Jokic turnover, but Nikola’s bucket the next time down and his followup paint bucket assisted by MPJ made up for it to put Denver up 85-77. Indiana made a couple of paint buckets and a Mathurin three, but Murray answered with a full drive to a scoop finish, and Denver finished up 89-84.

pic.twitter.com/00o5zN0at6
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) January 14, 2024

Murray directed the bench production to start the fourth and had two tough paint finishes in traffic. Ben Mathurin was one-man scoring machine for Indiana. Christian Braun finished a drive of his own but then DeAndre Jordan got thrown out for complaining about a screening foul and Jokic had to come back early. Jokic orchestrated a couple of buckets but then AG got called for a foul on a Murray bucket that Malone had to challenge. It was successful and put Denver up 99-91, before Bruce hurt Denver again inside. Porter buried a three off a Jokic assist then returned the passing favor on a Jokic finish to put Denver up 9. Mike hit his seventh 3, Jokic put back a Murray miss and Denver’s lead ballooned to 109-97. Aaron Gordon tipped in a missed Jokic free-throw, Murray hit a baseline jumper, and Denver took the win 117-109.

Final Thoughts:

That’s two team-wide performances in a row. The Nuggets struggled with turnovers and giving up offensive rebounds to the Pacers, but Denver had good energy and effort from the jump and sustained it for all four quarters. The strange whistle could have stolen their flow but Denver kept their focus despite the Jordan ejection and the game never really felt in jeopardy. The Utah performance was a low, but it seems to have galvanized the Nuggets to keep doing the things they need to do. The last two games haven’t been perfect, but they have shown that Denver basketball is more about the effort than the perfection – this team is plenty talented enough to win on nights they don’t do everything perfectly. Keeping that mentality on this upcoming road trip will be key.

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Denver, CO

Denver police seeking white 2010 Toyota Corolla allegedly involved in hit-and-run crash

Published

12 hours ago

December 13, 2025

Press Room

Denver police seeking white 2010 Toyota Corolla allegedly involved in hit-and-run crash

December 13, 2025 / 12:23 PM MST
/ CBS Colorado

Police have issued a Medina Alert to try to locate a white Toyota Corolla that was allegedly involved in a hit-and-run crash that seriously injured a pedestrian in Denver on Saturday.

The crash happened just before 9 a.m. near South Federal Boulevard and West Kentucky Avenue in west Denver.

Denver Police Department

The specific car being sought is a white 2010 Corolla with Colorado license plate EDM-U42, according to Denver police. Investigators say the driver of the Corolla struck a pedestrian in a crosswalk at the intersection, causing serious bodily injury. The driver then allegedly fled northbound on South Federal Boulevard.

Police say there will be slight to moderate damage to the front bumper.

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Denver, CO

Man found guilty of murder 9 years after girlfriend’s body was found in Denver-bound Amtrak train

Published

1 day ago

December 13, 2025

Press Room

Man found guilty of murder 9 years after girlfriend’s body was found in Denver-bound Amtrak train

DENVER — A Denver man was convicted Friday of murdering his girlfriend, nearly 10 years after her body was discovered inside a Denver-bound Amtrak train.

Angelo Valentino Mantych, 43, was convicted by a jury of his peers on one count of first-degree murder after deliberation for killing 28-year-old Marina Placensia while on-board an Amtrak overnight train that was headed to Denver from Wisconsin the morning of Sept. 1, 2016.

It took jurors about five hours of deliberation to reach the guilty verdict on Friday. Each was individually polled on their decision — and all of them confirmed their verdict.

Mantych, who was in court Friday for the reading of the verdict, hanged his head as it was read. He was scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 9.

Meanwhile, Placensia’s family was overcome with emotion when they heard the guilty verdict. Outside of the courtroom, Placensia’s father told Denver7 the day felt like Christmas, New Years Eve, and his birthday rolled into one day.

Denver7 also spoke with a juror, who said the group was united in their decision and worked well together.

First-degree murder carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, but the sentencing hearing will be an opportunity for those who loved Placensia to tell the judge how this loss has impacted their lives.

The two sides delivered their closing arguments on Friday morning.

Prosecutors said Placensia took the train that day with her four children, three of whom she shared with Mantych, to escape years of abuse and domestic violence. They argued that a “loss of control” served as motive for the killing. Prosecutors aimed to discredit the alternative explanations offered for Placensia’s death, pointing to what they said was clear evidence of a smothering.

Man found guilty of murder 9 years after girlfriend’s body was found in Denver-bound Amtrak train

The defense’s closing arguments centered around an apparent lack of commotion on the train on the night of Placensia’s death, saying it would be “almost impossible” for her to have been smothered for several minutes without their children noticing. Defense attorneys also called into question the integrity of an investigation that saw significant delays.

The case against Mantych is one Denver7 has been following since at least October 2023, when Mantych was charged with murder in connection with the crime.

An arrest affidavit obtained by Denver7 in the case showed the woman had several bruises on her body “consistent with an assault or struggle,” but investigators were not able to identify an obvious cause of death at the time. An autopsy later found blunt impacts to her head, trunk and extremities.

The investigation took several years to piece together, something the defense brought into question during closing arguments Friday.

“I think this case is such a great example of law enforcement just remaining committed to a case that they knew something happened, but we just had challenges with filing it, and so it’s a real testament to endurance and commitment by the entire team who’s worked on it since 2016,” said Assistant District Attorney Lara Mullin outside of the courtroom.

“It sends a very strong message to offenders who think that they can continue to perpetrate these types of crimes and violence on victims of domestic violence, that there will be justice sought and that we will not relent in our pursuit of that justice for victims of domestic violence,” said Amelia Sapp, the Chief Trial Deputy of Domestic Violence and Child Victims.

During the investigative process, one person told detectives that Mantych beat Placensia daily, and another said she had to go to a hospital multiple times for her injuries from the assaults, according to arresting documents. At least one of the reports obtained from the Racine Police Department and dated March 13, 2015, showed Mantych had punched Placensia’s ear several times, causing her to lose hearing in that ear. He was arrested and charged with assault after that incident.

On May 18, 2023, a doctor confirmed he believed Placensia’s cause of death was the result of asphyxia from suffocation and said her injuries were consistent with suffocation cases in both living and deceased patients, the affidavit stated. He said he believed her injuries were the result of an assault, including blunt force trauma and suffocation.

Mantych pleaded not guilty to the first-degree murder charge on June 21, 2024, according to court documents.

His trial began at the beginning of the month.

He did not testify in the trial and his defense team declined to comment on the verdict.

Editor’s note: If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available through Violence Free Colorado or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233.

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Denver, CO

Packers monitoring their backfield entering key game in Denver

Published

2 days ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

Packers monitoring their backfield entering key game in Denver

True to form, Jacobs pushed to practice but said team doctors told him to chill and be smart about it. The goal is to reduce the inflammation as much as possible to increase his chances of playing.

In his pre-practice news conference on Thursday, Head Coach Matt LaFleur praised Jacobs for “doing everything in his power to get ready to go.” From his perspective, Jacobs said he feels more relief than frustration.

“I’ve been in this league a long time, and it’s not too much that really gets me discouraged or anything like that,” Jacobs said.

“We still know what’s ahead of us. Now, if we were having this going into the playoffs, it would be a little weird, but at that point I wouldn’t care because it’s either do or don’t. But for me, I know my body, there’s nothing structurally wrong, so I don’t feel like it’s something I have to overly think about.”

If Jacobs can’t go Sunday, Wilson would be in line to make his second NFL start against the team with whom he broke into the league back in 2023.

Signed as an undrafted free agent out of NCAA Division II Fort Valley State (Ga.), Wilson spent just three days with the Broncos before he was released. Ten days later, he signed with the Packers and later made the team’s 53-man roster.

The 5-foot-10, 226-pound Wilson has since rushed for 938 yards and seven touchdowns on 205 carries (4.6 yards per carry) in 37 games, highlighted by a gratifying career day against Minnesota a few weeks ago.

“I still got that mentality to go out there and do it again,” Wilson said. “If (Jacobs) is going, he’s going. If I get my opportunity once again, I’m going to take advantage of it.”

Whoever starts against Denver understands the challenge its defense presents. In addition to the Broncos pacing the NFL with 55 sacks, they also boast a No. 2-ranked run defense that’s allowing just 89.0 yards per game.

Denver hasn’t allowed a running back to gain more than 100 yards since Jonathan Taylor’s 165-yard effort powered Indianapolis to a 29-28 victory in Week 2.

As much as Jacobs enjoys practicing, he doesn’t feel it’s a requirement in order for him to play in Denver. It all comes down to how his body is feeling and whether the team doctors give him the green light on Sunday afternoon.

“I always plan to play,” Jacobs said. “They gotta kinda tell me I can’t play for me not to play. For me, that’s where my head is at, but I’m also realistically just day-to-day right now.”

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