The Denver Nuggets welcomed back their superstar tonight. Nikola Jokic returned to the court after missing the previous sixteen games and didn’t appear to miss a beat. He ended his night with thirty-one points and put the finishing touches on the Los Angeles Clippers to secure a Nuggets victory. Peyton Watson and JAmal Murray also had solid nights which was more than enough to get a victory. Denver welcomes back their best player and gets a 122-109 victory in the process.
The Nuggets were very sloppy to open the game, perhaps re-acclimating to playing with Jokic, and L.A. built a quick lead. Nikola settled them down though and eventually buried a three to give the Nuggets a 13-12 lead. Denver stayed in front as the quarter progressed but didn’t build a large advantage. Jokic checked out early with Denver up two and just under half the quarter remaining. The bench came in and it went as well as a Nuggets fan could hope for. With Joker off the bench, the Nuggets just reverted to the ball they’ve been playing for the last month and actually grew the lead. By the time the first ended the Nuggets were up 35-27.
The offenses slowed down a bit after the first and only mustered a combined five points in the first two minutes of the second. Nonetheless, Denver stayed in front and kept a double-digit lead. Jokic came back in but still looked a little rusty, missing three straight free throws. The Clippers got themselves into foul trouble but Denver couldn’t grow the lead much more than ten. James Harden was carrying the offense on the Clippers side, hitting threes and then doing classic Harden foul baiting. He scored eleven straight points for L.A. and trimmed Denver’s lead to five with just over two minutes to go. A strong close kept them in front. Going into the locker room the Nuggets were up 59-50.
Denver opened the second half poorly, the Clippers started on an 11-3 run to pull within one after a classic Harden phantom foul got him an and-one. The Nuggets clung to a lead while the Clippers continued to hunt fouls. Jokic led the Denver’s offense and kept them from falling behind. He still struggled at the free throw line but as the bench checked in Denver stayed in front. Tim Hardaway Jr. knocked down a couple shots and pushed the Nuggets lead back up heading down the stretch. They got up by nine before Murray hit a half court shot at the buzzer to close out the third. After three quarters the Nuggets were up 92-80.
L.A. pushed back to open the fourth. Kawhi Leonard led their offense and chipped away at the Nuggets lead. Hardaway responded but then looked like he turned his ankle and had to leave the game. Joker picked up the slack and built Denver’s lead back up. You could see him get more and more comfortable as the fourth progressed. He highlighted his run with a behind the back pass to Peyton Watson which felt like a clear “I’m back” moment. The lead kept pushing up and before long it was clear Denver was going to get the win. Jokic exited with 31 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists with the Nuggets leading by eighteen. The fourth winded down with the Clippers unable to make much headway on Denver’s lead. The Nuggets close it out and get a 122-109 victory.
