It was a feel good night for the Denver Nuggets in their game against the Washington Wizards even if the game itself was painful to watch at times. The Nuggets got back one of their key pieces in Jonas Valanciunas while Peyton Watson continued to look like a force and a star player with a career high 35 points. The rest of the offense struggled mightily in a clunky affair but Denver locked in during the fourth quarter to put their opponent away and earn themselves a 107-97 win.
The Nuggets defense was solid to start the game and save for when the Wizards scored on freak occurrences they weren’t able to muster any offense. Meanwhile Valanciunas made his presence felt immediately and scored eight of Denver’s first eleven points. He cooled off and had to exit the quarter early because of his minutes restriction but the Nuggets defense stayed strong…or perhaps it was just that Washington’s offense was positively anemic outside of Bub Carrington. With the rest of Denver’s bench trickling in their offense slowed down as well, Watson forced the issue at the basket a couple times but there was little else. Washington started to find some rhythm with the quarter winding down and cut into the Nuggets lead using the three ball. After one Denver held a 27-23 lead.
The Nuggets offense was ice cold opening the second quarter but the Wizards weren’t any better. The teams combined to go 2/12 over the first three minutes. It got better after that for a little bit, Valanciunas had a highlight dunk down low, but there was just no consistency for either team. The Wizards gutted out a brief one point lead before Watson finally woke Denver’s offense up again with a couple three pointers. They went on a run in the second half of the quarter and built their lead back up. The Nuggets had a 43-36 advantage and the Wizards took a timeout. Watson continued to lead Denver’s offense and they continued to stay about seven points ahead up until the last minute of the quarter when they let the Wizards close the half on a run. The Nuggets headed to the locker room up just 48-46.
Watson continued to be the best option for Denver on offense as the third quarter began but Washington was able to hit enough three pointers to stay with Denver. Watson had a couple nice moments, including a pair of highlight blocks. Once again, the Nuggets started building their lead back up. Watson kept scoring and just under halfway through the quarter he hit two free throws to give the Nuggets a ten-point lead. Like they had previously with a lead, Denver let Washington get back into the game by hitting outside shots. They got back within a half dozen when Watson made a tough layup but then came up hobbled after and had to head back to the locker room. He was back on the bench shortly after that though and on the court the Nuggets offense perked back up. They were able to halt the Wizards run and ended the quarter up 81-75.
The Nuggets offense continued to be a mixed bag as the fourth opened. They mustered only two points in the first three minutes and the Wizards eventually tied the game at 83. Watson was back on the court for Denver and he and Bruce Brown got a couple buckets before Jalen Pickett set up Aaron Gordon for a dunk to make a 7-0 run for the Nuggets. Washington called a timeout and was able to stop the bleeding but the Nuggets were consistently staying a couple buckets ahead as the quarter progressed. As crunch time hit Denver’s stars were going to work. Jamal Murray was cooking, Gordon was working his game and Watson was driving to the basket. That once again saw Peyton getting hurt, he was clotheslined mid-air on a dunk attempt and landed awkwardly with two minutes left. He stayed writhing in pain on the floor for a bit and hobbled to the bench while the play was reviewed but by the time the refs finished deciding it wasn’t a flagrant foul he looked like he had recovered. He got some extra rest after that when the Wizards tried to challenge that Watson getting clotheslined midair should actually be a foul on him. They were unsuccessful. His free throws put the Nuggets up 11 with under two minutes to go. Washington didn’t have a last gasp run in them and the game winded down with the Nuggets carrying the double digit lead. They leave D.C. with a 107-97 win.
