Don’t tell the Nuggets this was the year of the blowout.
They’ve been playing in a different NBA. Amid rising average point differentials and a record number of 30-point routs — symptoms of the tanking epidemic — the Nuggets have been arguably the most entertaining team to watch any given night.
Maybe it’s their commitment to beautiful offense paired with their neglect of defense during the regular-season grind, resulting in a tendency to trade buckets. Maybe it’s their propensity for playing up or down to their opponent’s level — human nature for a veteran team that has tasted so much playoff success. (Denver is soon to begin its 17th playoff series in an eight-year stretch.)
Whatever the case, the Nuggets have been involved in several “game of the year” candidates. They’ve played 45 games decided by single digits, 42 involving clutch time, 20 decided by one score and nine that went to overtime.
As they wrap up Sunday in San Antonio, it feels only right to put a bow on this rollercoaster of a regular season by ranking Denver’s craziest games. What started as a top-10 list ended up expanding to 15. These were the highlights and lowlights of 2025-26.
15. Nuggets 134, Hawks 133, Dec. 5, Atlanta
Nikola Jokic recently chose “inconsistent” as the word to describe his season. This wacky night in Atlanta captured all the dramatic fluctuations, making it the perfect place to begin this countdown. Jokic missed 11 of his 13 shots in the first half. He played like a “sissy,” he said afterward. He decided at halftime that “if we were going to lose, at least I’m gonna give a fight.” He proceeded to make 11 of 13 shots in the second half, scoring 30 of his 40 points to lead Denver’s third-largest comeback win in franchise history (down 23). The weirdest part: The Nuggets also went on a 20-0 run without him on the court. In the last six years dating back to Jokic’s first MVP season, they’re 9-79 when they lose his minutes by more than five points (playoffs included). This was the worst plus-minus game of his entire prime (minus-15) that they’ve have won.
14. Mavericks 131, Nuggets 130, Dec. 23, Dallas
In hindsight, David Adelman has cited the final sequence of this game as one of his favorite moments of the season. Playing a two-man game with Jamal Murray, Jokic caught a pass at the free-throw line and stepped through the paint. As he left his feet, it appeared he was about to attempt a game-winning floater. Instead, he clocked the five — yes, all five — defenders collapsing to him in the lane and whipped a pass to Peyton Watson in the weak-side corner. It was a wide-open 3-point attempt at the buzzer. Watson missed it. Adelman adamantly defended Jokic’s split-second decision, which was scrutinized even by the first-year coach’s friends. Less than a month later, Watson earned Western Conference Player of the Week honors. His breakout season as a scorer has been pivotal for Denver. Before any of that, he had a vote of trust from his team’s best player.
13. Nuggets 102, Bucks 100, Jan. 23, Milwaukee
The Nuggets stumbled out of Milwaukee with an unlikely win that probably contributed to escalating tensions between Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks before the trade deadline. Aaron Gordon was Denver’s only starter available that night, and he reinjured his hamstring before halftime, leaving the team without seven rotation players as it tried to protect a 23-point lead in the fourth quarter. Antetokounmpo led his hapless team on a 34-13 run, only to limp off with a calf strain with 34 seconds left. How did the Nuggets hold on? “Time ran out,” Adelman said bluntly.
12. Pistons 109, Nuggets 107, Jan. 27, Denver
You will probably never see a basketball game end like this again: The Pistons foul Murray in the act of shooting ٷɾon desperate game-tying 3-point attempts in the last 3.5 seconds, offering Denver a lifeline. And both times, an 89% foul shooter fails to capitalize, missing one of his three free throws. Murray’s teammates were quick to forgive him after an outstanding month in which he led Denver without Jokic in the lineup. He was hard on himself. “If I could just make a free throw, maybe hit rim in the first half,” he said, “it would be lovely.”
11. Nuggets 128, Rockets 125 (OT), Dec. 15, Denver
Perhaps the most consequential officiating moment of Denver’s season occurred with 2.3 seconds left in regulation, when the Nuggets trailed by one and needed to score on a last-ditch sideline inbound play. Tim Hardaway Jr. fell before the ball was passed in, earning a whistle for a dead-ball foul. Replay review determined that he had just barely tripped over the shin of Rockets’ wing Amen Thompson, a soft letter-of-the-law foul that resulted in an automatic free throw. “Most poorly officiated game I’ve seen in a long time,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said afterward. “Two (of the refs) have no business being out there, and the crew chief (Zach Zarba) was acting starstruck.” Alperen Sengun missed a game-tying 3-pointer late in overtime, and Denver held on despite Jokic fouling out with 90 seconds left. If Hardaway hadn’t sold the call, the playoff seeding picture from third to fifth could look different.
10. Nuggets 137, Trail Blazers 132 (OT), April 6, Denver
The Nuggets provided the highlight of their recent 11-game win streak with a rousing 16-point comeback in the last nine minutes of regulation to beat the Blazers, who had one of the luckiest shooting performances in recent NBA history. Coming into Denver, they ranked 29th in the league in 3-point percentage with an 80-game sample as evidence of their inefficiency. Denver’s game plan was to close out short and be the second to leave the ground. Portland went 25 for 52 from deep. It went to waste.
9. Nuggets 106, Raptors 103, Dec. 31, Toronto
Behold, a war of attrition for the ages. This game began as Denver’s first without Jokic, who had hyperextended his knee two nights earlier. By the end, the Nuggets needed a miracle. Backup center Jonas Valanciunas joined Jokic in the infirmary after suffering an injury in the third quarter. It left Denver without a traditional five-man for multiple weeks. DaRon Holmes II was suddenly playing his first career minutes outside of garbage time. In a tight road game. Against a playoff team. Denver and Toronto combined to shoot a whopping 6 for 33 in the last eight and a half minutes. It ended in the most fitting and most ironic way possible: Bruce Brown missed two consecutive free throws with 2.7 seconds left when he only needed one to clinch the game, and the Raptors went the length of the floor off the rebound to hit an incredible buzzer-beating 3-pointer. Just as it seemed the game was going to stretch into 2026, it turned out the ball was still on Brandon Ingram’s fingertips when the clock struck midnight. The one shot that went in for Toronto didn’t count, and Denver had pulled off a tone-setting win for life without Jokic.
8. Knicks 134, Nuggets 127 (2OT), Feb. 4, New York
This one will be remembered for Jokic playing 44 minutes on the second night of a back-to-back, less than a week after returning from his injury. He had already blown past his minutes restriction by the end of regulation at Madison Square Garden. By then, Adelman was in too deep. “There was an ‘I don’t care’ factor once it got to overtime,” he said after the loss. Christian Braun drew a foul at the buzzer of OT and buried two clutch free throws to force a second, but all that did in the end was add to Jokic’s exorbitant playing time. “That was a really fun game,” Jamal Murray said. So fun that he didn’t even notice when Peyton Watson limped off with a hamstring injury that sidelined him for six weeks.
7. Thunder 127, Nuggets 121 (OT), Feb. 27, Oklahoma City
Joker v. Dort. The flagrant foul that ignited a rivalry and the “necessary reaction” . Jokic’s death stare was an instant classic. The game was pretty spectacular, too. But NBA fans years from now might not even remember it went to overtime.
6. Warriors 137, Nuggets 131 (OT), Oct. 23, San Francisco
At its core, this was a legendary duel between Steph Curry and … Aaron Gordon? Fun fact: AG is the only player in Nuggets history to ever average 50 points per game at any point in a season. He broke Alex English’s franchise scoring record in a season opener (47), going 10 for 11 from 3-point range in one of the most mesmerizing heat checks you’ll ever see by a role player. But opening night was the worst possible time to visit Golden State, before injuries took their toll on a geriatric Warriors team. Curry scored their last 13 points of regulation, punctuated by a ridiculous game-tying 35-footer. A game like this was appropriate foreshadowing for the type of season that was in store. It’s stupid that it’s this low on the list.
5. Nuggets 136, Spurs 134 (OT), April 4, Denver
An 11-point Nuggets comeback in the fourth quarter, a pair of magical Jokic shots in the last minute of overtime and, in general, the most epic battle yet between Jokic and Victor Wembanyama. This was hooping of the highest order, quite possibly the best game of the NBA season if not the craziest.
4. Thunder 129, Nuggets 126, March 9, Oklahoma City
It was basketball serendipity that Denver and OKC had a rematch slated 10 days after the incident between Jokic and Dort. Naturally, that rematch became perhaps the most anticipated game of Denver’s season, aided by the bad blood that continued to linger in public comments made by the Nuggets. Dort eventually apologized, and the whole saga finally simmered. But the game still lived up to the hype. Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander combined to score 15 points in the last 73 seconds of this MVP referendum, which ended with a Denver miracle wiped out. Gilgeous-Alexander seemingly sealed the win for OKC when he buried a 3-pointer to go up four with 12 seconds left. But the Nuggets answered with a brilliant inbound play design to get Jokic a quick shot. Jaylin Williams plowed through a screening Murray as Jokic drained a triple, enabling the Nuggets to tie it with a fortuitous 4-point play. Then SGA got the last word.
3. Lakers 127, Nuggets 125 (OT), March 14, Los Angeles
Denver’s misfortune in clutch time reached a nadir in Los Angeles, where Austin Reaves rebounded his own intentionally missed free throw to force overtime. It was the wildest single play of this Nuggets season, and they were on the wrong end of it. They were also helpless to prevent Luka Doncic from hitting a game-winner in the last second of OT. Denver had a foul to give on the play, but Spencer Jones didn’t use it. His emergence has been a breath of fresh air for the Nuggets this season. This was a tough learning moment for the young wing. Forgotten in all the chaos of the Reaves play: Jokic threw one of his best passes of the year to find Hardaway for what should have been the game-winning shot in regulation.
2. Nuggets 142, Timberwolves 138 (OT), Dec. 25, Denver
Christmas classic. Just an absolutely bonkers rivalry game. The Nuggets led 106-91 with five minutes to go and 113-107 with 35 seconds. They trailed 124-115 with three minutes left in overtime. There was Anthony Edwards brashly asking Watson if the Nuggets planned to foul up three at the end of regulation, before draining an incredible shot to force overtime. Then there was Jokic scoring an NBA record 18 points in the extra period to fuel Denver’s comeback. He finished the game with 56 points, 16 rebounds and 15 assists, matching the second-highest scoring game of his career. “They’re gonna show this game (on TV) 20 years from now,” Adelman said, “and I’ll crack open a beer and watch it.” How about another four to seven of those games later this month? Nuggets fans might prefer a cigarette.
1. Nuggets 125, 76ers 124 (OT), Jan. 5, Philadelphia
Being in the arena for this felt like watching a No. 15 seed in the NCAA Tournament pour its heart out to compete with a No. 2 seed. Every minute the game stays close, the more you’re convinced the upset might actually be possible. Denver was missing seven rotation players, all five starters, both centers. It was the second game of a back-to-back near the end of the longest road trip of the season. It was Jalen Pickett, Zeke Nnaji and Hunter Tyson vs. Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George. It was 98-89 Sixers early in the fourth quarter. In overtime, it was Philly ball with a one-point lead and a six-second clock differential. The Nuggets shocked the NBA world with their defense, with a Bruce Brown fast break and with a tip from the supercomputer mind of Jokic, a bystander on the bench. The team went on to finish 10-6 in a month without Jokic. No other regular-season moment could replicate the emotions of this win.
