The Nuggets were stunted. Flustered. Worked up.

David Adelman was across midcourt. His protests were only causing more harm. Aaron Gordon was in deep foul trouble. He had just picked up his third of the first quarter, and Adelman had wasted his challenge trying to overturn it. He picked up a technical foul in the process for his indignance. The Timberwolves had brought their 2024 defense to Denver, and they were headed toward a 12-point lead. Nikola Jokic was turning it over. The role players were missing shots.

This all felt reminiscent of that cursed second-round series two years ago, when the Wolves and refs got in the Nuggets’ heads, when Denver lost three of four games at home.

The 2026 Nuggets were ready to take the first punch. They rallied to tie it by halftime, raced ahead in the third quarter, then held on in the fourth for a 116-105 Game 1 win over their rivals Saturday at Ball Arena. They’ve won eight of their last nine playoff Game 1s dating back to their championship run in 2023. Their only series-opening loss in that time was to Minnesota.

“It was the type of playoff game that you love to win because it was kind of ugly,” Adelman said. “… We were up against it right away. And that’s a big thing for a road team to come out, punch the home team in the mouth. That’s what they did after we missed shots. And just the reaction to that, staying together, winning a grimy game, it’s good. We’re gonna have games where we shoot the hell out of it and everything looks pretty, and everybody is gonna say how good we are. There’s no difference. You just win the game. And that’s what the game was tonight.”

Nuggets guard Christian Braun put it more simply after contributing 12 points and eight rebounds.

“When you win and you don’t play well,” he said, “I think that’s a good sign.”

Jamal Murray led the Nuggets with 30 points on a 16-for-16 afternoon at the foul line, shaking off a slow start and a twisted right ankle after Jaden McDaniels closed out into his landing space on an early 3-point attempt. It was his 20th career 30-point playoff game, and he overcame an 0-for-8 outside shooting performance to get there. Jokic added 25 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists. Their two-man game picked apart Minnesota in the third quarter, generating clean scoring chances on nearly every possession.

Most importantly, Denver’s defense came to bat. It bided time for the offense during the first half, while nerves settled and turnovers slowly dissipated. It sank its teeth in during a 14-0 third-quarter run that broke the game open, holding the Wolves scoreless for more than four straight minutes.

“It was physical. It was ups and downs. Runs,” Jokic said. “… It always is about the runs and how you’re gonna react and how you’re gonna manage those runs. Are you gonna take bad shots, or are you gonna create open looks?”

Anthony Edwards, playing on a wobbly knee, led the Wolves with 22 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Adelman was pleased with Braun’s defense against the star guard, who said he felt fatigued but healthy in the loss. Rudy Gobert added 17 and 10. Julius Randle struggled to assert himself, needing 16 shots to compile 16 points. He and Edwards combined to shoot 14 for 35. Minnesota coach Chris Finch called Murray’s 16 free throws a “head-scratcher” compared to his team’s 19 attempts.

“Ant was trying to snake. Just get a little tap on the ball and make him fumble it so he has to get back in front. The little details helped our defense a lot,” Murray said. “And for us, that leads to offense. So I felt like when we did make those runs, it was because of those little plays.”

The Wolves have been prone to mental lapses this season, and they bit themselves with one at a critical moment in the series opener. Murray was forced to heave a 45-footer at the shot clock buzzer after having the ball poked away with two minutes left — a rare example of a Nuggets possession that didn’t generate an open shot down the stretch. It should’ve been Minnesota’s ball down five. Instead, Murray’s heave grazed the rim, and the Timberwolves ball-watched, giving up an easy offensive rebound to Bruce Brown.

“I’d be mad if I didn’t hit rim,” Murray said.

Gordon capitalized with an open dunk to punctuate his 17-point, eight-rebound game.

“We know what this is. When Aaron plays, we’re a different team,” Adelman said. “It’s just the bottom line. It’s not the stats. It’s the feel. We feel bigger because we are.”

Peyton Watson was the only inactive player on either team. As he continues to recover from a right hamstring strain that he reaggravated on April 1, the growing sense around the team is that he’ll miss at least a couple more games, a source told The Post.

His absence was a troubling sign for the Nuggets’ bench depth and for their defensive options against Edwards. Adelman said earlier this week that he hoped to start the playoffs with “at least nine guys out there (to) see the rotation, how it works,” then to shorten his rotation throughout the series. With Watson ruled out for Game 1, it wasn’t so simple.

“I’ll say I’m gonna play eight and a half going in,” the first-year coach said before tip. “That’s kind of the way you look at it.”

Spencer Jones was the eighth man, making his playoff debut and checking in for the first time since March 29. The 24-year-old was sidelined by a right hamstring injury of his own late in the regular season, interrupting his momentum right after the Nuggets had found success with him as a quasi-backup center.

They had to rely on him and Cam Johnson at the four through most of the first half Saturday after Gordon got in foul trouble. Both were ready for the task defensively. Johnson put in good work against Randle and Edwards in isolation. Offensively, he had Edwards guarding him, so Denver tested Ant’s off-ball defense by calling a steady diet of plays early for Johnson. He scored 10 of his 12 points before halftime. The other two: a game-sealing floater with 53 seconds to go.

As for the ninth man to complete Adelman’s eight and a half? Jonas Valanciunas played the eight minutes Jokic was off the floor, attempting to match Rudy Gobert in size on the glass. Murray and Johnson staggered with the bench unit. The Timberwolves forced Murray to defend pick-and-rolls while Valanciunas was down the floor in coverage, resulting in a couple of pull-up 3s. But otherwise, Minnesota didn’t have enough reliable shot creation when Edwards and Randle were both off the floor. Murray got into a midrange rhythm during the second quarter, and Denver won the first non-Jokic minutes of the playoffs by seven to find new life.

That stint was a minus-five to start the fourth quarter, prompting Adelman to go back to Jokic with nine minutes left and a seven-point lead. Gobert was impressive in 1-on-1 defense against the three-time MVP most of the day, and he forced the Nuggets to respect him offensively by finishing through contact around the rim.

“If he plays like that,” McDaniels said, “we’re going to win (the series).”

But Jokic delivered a decisive sequence with six minutes remaining after Minnesota had cut it to two. Ayo Dosunmu was amping up the pressure. He handed the ball to Murray on the baseline after scoring, ready to pick him up full-court as the Wolves are fond of doing. After the Nuggets got the ball up, Jokic drained a tough floater over Gobert while getting fouled. He disrupted a pass by Randle at the other end, leading to a steal, then tipped in a missed 3-pointer in transition to put Denver back up 102-95.

Nuggets vs. Timberwolves matchups: Who has the edge?

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Backcourt

Anthony Edwards and Jamal Murray are better players than they were in 2024. They’ve both increasingly embraced the 3-point line to great effect. Murray launched 127 more than his previous career-high this season, shooting 43.5% clip on 7.5 attempts per game. He’ll likely be rewarded with his first All-NBA nod. Edwards is 39.6% on 9.5 attempts per game over the last two years, up from 35.3% on 7.4 in the first four of his career. Nobody on earth craves the ball more than him. He’s the cockiest player in the NBA and arguably one of the five best. Pick-and-roll pull-up 3s have become one of his favorite shots to hunt — especially against teams that struggle with screen navigation like Denver.

How Edwards and Murray are guarded could evolve over the course of the series. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was Denver’s primary perimeter defender in 2024. He’s long gone. Christian Braun has been inconsistent at keeping Edwards in front of him, but he’s likely to start games with the assignment. Aaron Gordon, Bruce Brown, Spencer Jones or Peyton Watson (if he’s healthy) could take shifts. The case for a Minnesota upset starts with the Nuggets being a bad 1-on-1 defensive team. They’ll likely have to send two to Edwards and find creative ways to force the ball out of his hands without compromising their 3-on-4 defense behind the double. Their zone will probably make an appearance at some point, with two at the top magnetized to Ant. Blitzing him on ball screens will test his capability — and just as importantly, his willingness — to make the right read out of the advantage he creates.

Murray is the more advanced playmaker of the two, and he has the benefit of sharing the court with an offensive weapon who demands even more attention than him. But if he’s bringing the ball up, he should expect the Timberwolves to replicate their full-court pressure that caused him so many headaches in 2024.

More likely, the Nuggets will run plenty of sets with him coming off pin-downs and other screens to catch in the flow of their half-court offense, sparing him from the burden of initiating every possession. Murray can breathe a sigh of relief that Nickeil Alexander-Walker left Minnesota for greener pastures in free agency last summer, diminishing the Wolves’ on-ball defensive firepower. Their matchup choices will be fascinating here. Two years ago, Ant often guarded Murray himself and was up to the challenge. His commitment to defense has fluctuated throughout this season (understandable when you’re also the team’s offensive engine). Is he prepared to handle a healthier, more polished Blue Arrow? Or is that a job for Jaden McDaniels alone?

Minnesota’s de facto Alexander-Walker replacement is Ayo Dosunmu, a brilliant trade deadline acquisition who thrives in transition, shoots 44% from deep and could also guard Murray off the bench — if he doesn’t get moved into the starting lineup at some point. Both teams have a veteran, sharpshooting two-guard with a fiery competitive edge. It’s 82-game starter Donte DiVincenzo for Minnesota; it’s Sixth Man of the Year candidate Tim Hardaway Jr. for Denver. Either of these guys could pop off and steal a game for their team at some point in this series.

But so much of this rivalry comes down to Ant, as compelling a Nuggets villain as any. “I think there’s a lot of rivalries in the league right now,” he said Wednesday, “and me and Denver is one them.” For the sake of great television, here’s hoping his recent knee injury doesn’t become a storyline in this series. Who has the edge? Timberwolves.

Frontcourt

This is the first playoff clash between the Nuggets and Timberwolves since the latter swapped out a pretty important variable in its frontcourt — Karl-Anthony Towns for Julius Randle (and DiVincenzo). The surprise blockbuster trade has aged confusingly for Minnesota and New York. Both teams went to the conference finals in 2025. Yet both players have a particular knack for getting their fan bases worked up by their flaws and inconsistencies.

Randle built a decent All-Star candidacy for himself early this season, but struggled at both ends in the second half. He’s 29.9% from 3-point range since Jan. 1. When he and Rudy Gobert are both on the floor, Minnesota’s spacing can get wonky if Randle doesn’t have the ball in his hands. Those lineups risk giving the Nuggets an easy out when they want to defend Edwards aggressively. Over the years, they’ve been more than happy to leave Gobert — a notoriously clunky offensive center — wide open on the short roll. If they’re also willing to ignore Randle on the perimeter, his off-the-catch shooting could become a pressure point in the matchup. KAT’s deadeye 3-point shooting and Gobert’s defensive acumen complemented each other beautifully when Minnesota eliminated Denver two years ago.

Randle is dangerous with the ball, though. Where he’s an upgrade from KAT is in his ability to hunt mismatches and attack smaller defenders. Gordon will guard him for the vast majority of this series and might even mirror minutes, but if the Nuggets try to put him on Edwards at any point, they don’t have great secondary options for Randle. (Zeke Nnaji might be their best bet, but he’s highly unlikely to see the court unless Denver is in foul trouble.) Watson doesn’t have enough strength to hold his ground against the 6-foot-9 power forward. Braun might be to size up to him occasionally, but not probably consistently enough for Denver to give up a switch every time. Could David Adelman test out Jones? It would be a tough assignment for a former two-way player who’s coming off a hamstring injury as he prepares for his first career playoff minutes.

As weird as it sounds, defense might be where the Wolves miss KAT most in this matchup. (This is where Nikola Jokic’s name is finally uttered.) Two years ago, Towns was their primary defender on Jokic, allowing Gobert to roam as a help-side rim protector. KAT is rather famously not known for his defense, but his ability to rise to the occasion and match Jokic’s physicality throughout that series was a remarkable feat, allowing Gobert to do what he does best. It was a huge reason the Timberwolves advanced.

Randle is nowhere near as viable in that scheme, in part because he gives up multiple inches to Jokic, unlike Towns. “Probably gotta call God and talk to him for a little bit and ask him for a few favors,” Randle said this week when asked about how to guard the three-time MVP center. Jokic is averaging 35.5 points, 11.3 rebounds and 10.4 assists in eight games against Minnesota since the KAT trade, shooting 62.1% from the field. Randle and Gobert played in all eight. How often will the Wolves want to try the Randle matchup arrangement? How long will they be willing to stick with it? Gobert is an all-time defender, but if he has to guard Jokic straight up, Jokic typically finds ways to win that battle as well (and Minnesota tends to double-team his post-ups less than other teams do).

One of the most effective strategies against Jokic around the NBA has been to front him with a smaller player who can get away with more contact. (See Alex Caruso, Game 7 in Oklahoma City.) The Timberwolves could try that with a scrappy guard like DiVincenzo, a lanky athletic wing like McDaniels, or even with veteran forward Kyle Anderson, a buyout acquisition who was also pursued by Denver. Adelman predicted Edwards could try to guard Jokic at some point. Whichever way the Wolves configure their matchups, their help defense will be coming from Braun this year instead of Gordon, who has evolved into a lethal spot-up shooter since 2024. Braun regressed to 30% from 3-point range this season while battling an ankle injury. He’ll be the disregarded role player if and when Rudy roams. Minnesota is more likely to stay home on Cam Johnson, whether it’s McDaniels matching up — he’s the best perimeter defender in this series — or DiVincenzo. Who has the edge? Nuggets.

Bench depth

Both coaches will have to gauge how deep they want to go into their benches early in this series, which could lead to some interesting dynamics. Minnesota has at least two high-level reserves in Dosunmu and backup big man Naz Reid. Beyond that, Chris Finch’s rotation could vary night to night. Anderson adds value as a defender and playmaker, but lineups involving him will also sacrifice spacing. Terrence Shannon Jr. or ex-Nugget Bones Hyland could be used as a sparkplug if Minnesota needs scoring. Mike Conley is a veteran with Finch’s supreme trust; his ability to eat minutes could be tested.

When the Nuggets are healthy, they have known entities off their bench in Watson, Hardaway and Brown, though their trust in Watson as a ball-handler might be tested in these playoffs. The backup center minutes will be a fascinating element of this series in particular. If the Wolves make sure Reid is on the court whenever Jokic isn’t, they might be able to take away Jonas Valanciunas completely. Reid can pick-and-pop teams to death, and the easiest way to guard him on the perimeter might be with a more switchable lineup, using Jones at the five. On the other hand, if the Nuggets want to force the issue, they could try to get Valanciunas a few minutes against Gobert, though that might mean altering Jokic’s sub pattern. Julian Strawther is Denver’s Shannon equivalent — a young guard who’s probably out of the rotation but capable of changing a game if he gets hot. Who has the edge? Timberwolves — until Watson and Jones are cleared.

— Bennett Durando, The Denver Post

Nuggets vs. Timberwolves: 5 storylines to watch

Frenemies: Channels of communication are wide open between these two franchises, based on their hiring practices. Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly left Denver for Minnesota in 2022, taking front-office employees like Jon Wallace with him. Wallace left the Wolves last summer for the co-general manager job back in Denver. Both head coaches have been assistants for the other team. And don’t forget Minnesota guard Bones Hyland, who the Nuggets once traded in an addition-by-subtraction deadline move the year they won the title.

The end of the trilogy: The Nuggets took down Minnesota in 2023, beginning their road to the first championship in franchise history. It was only a five-game first-round series, but the seeds of begrudging respect were nonetheless planted, as Bruce Brown described it as the toughest series Denver had played. The Wolves got payback in 2024 with a 20-point second-half comeback to win Game 7 at Ball Arena. Eight current Denver players were on that team. They haven’t forgotten the sting.

The beginning of the road: The Nuggets are facing a nightmarish path to the NBA Finals, with arguably the three best teams in the West (other than themselves) standing in their way. First, it’s Minnesota. Second and third, barring upsets, are San Antonio and Oklahoma City. If Denver can somehow get through this series efficiently, it would do wonders for the team’s stamina and health going forward. Game 7s are likely in store eventually if the Nuggets are going to pull off a run for the ages.

Rudy vs. Joker: This is the fourth playoff clash between them, dating back to Gobert’s time in Utah. Way back then in the 2020 bubble, a memorable first-round series ended with Jokic scoring a beautiful hook shot over Gobert to give Denver the lead for good with 27 seconds left in Game 7. “I like his humility,” Gobert said this week. “I think he’s someone that doesn’t really care about the outside noise. He’s just here to show up, help his team win and go home. I like that. I respect that.” Jokic hates to admit it, but his eyes often light up at the opportunity to prove the best offense is superior to the best defense. The Joker vs. Rudy post-ups will be highlights in this series, one way or the other.

Wild card Watson: Peyton Watson’s lack of a contract extension has loomed over his breakout fourth season. He’s entering a crucial playoff run now that should be significant in determining his value as a restricted free agent this summer. But a suddenly gimpy right hamstring stands between him and the spotlight right now. He missed 25 of Denver’s last 30 regular-season games after suffering a grade two strain on Feb. 4. It’s been more than two weeks since he last played, and Denver still has some anxiety about his status. If and when he’s able to return, he may have to find ways to be impactful that don’t appear on the stat sheet. His on-ball and help-side defense will be invaluable to the Nuggets if they’re going to make a deep run.

Nuggets vs. Timberwolves series predictions

Bennett Durando, Nuggets beat writer: I’ve got too much respect for Ant, and too much lingering skepticism about Denver’s point-of-attack defense, to predict a short series. But two years after the Wolves danced on Denver’s grave, I think the Nuggets return the favor. This one ends in Minnesota’s house. Nuggets in six.

Troy Renck, sports columnist: This is a real rivalry. Since 2022, counting the regular and postseason, the teams are 14-14 over 28 games. But Minnesota is no longer the boogeyman. Anthony Edwards is a human highlight, but has not been healthy. He might steal a game. He is not swiping a series. The Nuggets will win the offensive boards, and even if Christian Braun struggles from 3 when dared to shoot, Minnesota will have no answer for Nikola Jokic. As is always the case when these two play. Nuggets in six.

Sean Keeler, sports columnist: Keep those rosary beads handy whenever Aaron Gordon grabs his hammy. The Nuggets didn’t have Cam Johnson, Bruce Brown or Tim Hardaway Jr. in the 2024 conference finals — and Hardaway has been a quiet thorn in the side of Minnesota defenders for years. This is why you got ’em. Nobody can really guard Anthony Edwards when he wants it. Same for Nikola Jokic. If the Nuggets get more offense from THEIR wings than Minnesota gets from Gobert/Randle, they’ll be good. Ant-Man says the Wolves sandbagged the regular season. Prove it. Nuggets in seven.

Luca Evans, sports reporter: Anthony Edwards has hit the peak of flame-throwing powers like never before seen in 2025-26, which puts somewhat suspect Denver perimeter defense under massive stress. The Timberwolves have an ascending Jaden McDaniels to toss at Jamal Murray, and rotational options at center with all-time-great defender Rudy Gobert and sixth man Naz Reid. But the Nuggets have finally unlocked their late-game flow across this 12-game winning streak, and are ready for revenge in Minnesota. Nuggets in seven. 

Nate Peterson, sports editor: The fix for the Nuggets’ Ant problem? Too much offense and just enough defense to win the 2026 Tim Connelly Bowl. Denver has reeled off 12 straight wins entering the playoffs, and with Aaron Gordon healthy and Spencer Jones and Peyton Watson likely available to start this series, Minnesota will avoid a sweep but won’t push this thing the distance. The Nuggets’ starting five with AG has obliterated opponents all season long with a +12.5 net rating. Meanwhile, Minnesota’s starting five with a less explosive Ant-Man has limped to the finish line with only a +0.1 net rating since the All-Star break. Nuggets in five. 

David Adelman says he’s hopeful that Peyton Watson and Spencer Jones will be able to play in Game 1 of Denver’s first-round playoff series Saturday (1:30 p.m.) against the Timberwolves. But the two young wings had not been cleared yet as of Wednesday.

“It’s nice to have some days to get people right,” Adelman said after practice Wednesday afternoon at Ball Arena. “Hopefully, Spence and Peyton, it gives them a better chance to come back and play, which is good for us. … And getting their bodies right and their minds right for what the challenge is going to be.”

Watson and Jones both participated in the practice, which was entirely non-contact, Adelman said. They’re both dealing with right hamstring injuries. Watson’s is a reaggravation of the strain he suffered in early February. In Jones’ case, hamstring tightness popped up at the start of April, causing him to miss the last six games of the regular season.

If they’re able to play, they’ll be two of Denver’s most important perimeter defenders against a Wolves team led by All-NBA guard Anthony Edwards.

“His change of pace, his ability to finish the ball, his ability to shoot the ball, his great separation — he’s so talented,” Nikola Jokic said. “And (he has) an ability to make tough shots. So he’s definitely one of the hardest offensive players to guard. He can do a post-up. He can do a midrange. He’s really good 1-on-1.”

Edwards has been ramping up recently after missing time late in the season with a right knee ailment. He told reporters in Minneapolis on Wednesday that he has spent the last few weeks focusing on getting his body fat down and returning to game shape. He currently weighs in at 218 pounds, the lightest he’s been since college, he said.

Christian Braun will guard Edwards in Denver’s starting lineup, but Watson and Jones represent reinforcements off the bench for a team that has struggled to keep star ball-handlers in front throughout the season.

“He can do a little bit of everything,” Braun said. “I think that even this year as opposed to when we played him in the past in the playoffs, he’s shooting the ball a lot more and a lot better. So he’s just a tough guard. He’s physical. Got to stay down on his pump fakes. He’s got the sweep-through moves. He’s just got a little bit of everything. He’s a really good player. One of the best in the league. So it’s an exciting matchup for us.”

Forget the past, Adelman says

There’s no escaping the recent history between Denver and Minnesota. But as the two teams prepare for their third playoff meeting in four years, Adelman said the Nuggets have tried to get into a frame of mind that these are not the same teams that faced off in 2023 and 2024.

“We’ve talked about that, us beating them in five, them beating us in seven all those years ago,” he said. “It’s no different than, you win the championship and people keeping talking about it (even though) it was a long time ago. This is a totally different series. (Nickeil) Alexander-Walker’s not there. We don’t have Russ (Westbrook). I mean, there’s a lot of different people two years ago. There’s no KCP. We’re a different team over the course of all these years. So I think it’s its own thing completely. That’s how we’re attacking this. I think their team has gotten better in certain ways over those years. Ant has gotten better and better. So it’s a totally different animal to me, and I’m sure they feel the same way.”

If the Nuggets were trying to steer clear of Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves in the NBA Playoffs, they’d have pulled Nikola Jokic out of the Spurs game Sunday after about 40 seconds instead of the half.

Load management in April should apply to Timberwolves faithful, too.

Especially when it’s a load of complete and utter crapola.

“You can’t duck opponents and (the Spurs) didn’t want to duck us,” Denver coach David Adelman said after the Nuggets won in San Antonio with a little Joker and a lot of bench mob minutes to clinch the 3 seed in the West. “We’re not ducking anybody.”

And why should they?

This ain’t 2024 anymore. The Nuggets took three of four from Minnesota, their first-round playoff opponent, during the regular season. Denver scored at least 108 points against the T-Wolves in all four of those meetings, something they haven’t done against their conference rivals since the 2020-21 season.

We’ve heard plenty of yapping about how Tim Connelly, Minnesota’s president of basketball operations, built the Nuggets into a championship club, then went north to build a beast that could nullify their strengths.

Only that pipeline works both ways now, boys and girls. The Kroenkes last June hired Jon Wallace to be Denver’s new executive vice president of player personnel, snapping him up from … Minnesota, where Wallace worked in the Twin Cities under Connelly, his old Nuggets boss, for three seasons.

You usually don’t land good free agents without some stellar work by various double agents first. Which is why it’s probably not a coincidence that one of the first things Wallace and front-office partner Ben Tenzer did once they got the keys was sign a player who drove Minnesota defenders up the Berlin Wall.

The Nuggets that Minnesotans have labeled an easy mark didn’t have this version of Peyton Watson two years ago. Or this version of Julian Strawther. Or Bruce Brown. Or Cam Johnson. Or Jonas Valanciunas. Or Tim Hardaway Jr.

Hardaway fit Adelman’s system like a glove. He settled in as the perfect shooting complement to Jokic, Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon. And Wallace had remembered how No. 10 used to light up the T-Wolves like it was Christmas in Times Square.

Hardaway, the Nuggets’ veteran sixth man, heads into the series averaging 16.6 points per game against Minnesota during the regular season over a 12-year NBA career. He’s averaged 2.7 treys against the T-Wolves lifetime. Hardaway was good for 3.8 3-pointers and 19.6 points per game against Minnesota this year. The 6-foot-5 wing knocked down second-most treys ever (224) in a season by a Nugget who wasn’t Murray (245). He passed Michael Porter Jr. (220) for second place on that list next week, and isn’t getting nearly enough love nationally for NBA Sixth Man of the Year honors.

“I don’t know how he’s not (getting more),” Murray noted recently. “He’s scoring in bunches. He’s not just coming in and just making shots. He’s doing a lot. He’s talking. He’s into the ball. He’s engaged in every shot. He’s engaged in every opportunity he has. He’s a starter out there.”

More importantly for this matchup, he’s a starter who’ll play a lot in those non-Jokic minutes where the Timberwolves used to feast. Two years ago against Minnesota in the conference semis, the Nuggets’ bench was outscored by the Wolves’ bench by an average of 24-17 per tilt during the series. Over the seven games, only once (Game 5) did Denver’s reserves outscore Minnesota’s (16-15). Take out Game 5, and the Nuggets’ bench got boat-raced by almost 10 points per contest (26-17).

Hardaway changes that math.

Gordon’s hamstring notwithstanding, No. 10 might be the most important Nugget — or “swing” Nugget — in the entire series.

Since the fall of 2019, Hardaway’s teams are 8-4 in the regular season against Minnesota whenever he’s scored 19 points or more. The Nuggets were 14-6 (.700) during the ’25-26 regular season when he put up at least 19 points. When he made at least four treys in a game, Denver went 20-8 (.714).

In their last four playoff games vs. Minnesota two springs ago, the Nuggets got seven 3-point makes, total, from their bench. In his four appearances against the Wolves with Denver this season, Hardaway drained 15 treys. All by himself.

This ain’t 2024 anymore. Hardaway Jr. has won 10 of his last 18 visits to Minneapolis and sports a 2-0 career mark there during the NBA postseason. He’s averaged 15.5 points in the Twin Cities as a pro and put up 21.5 per game against the Minnesota Gophers while at Michigan.

“He knows how to affect the game in his own way and just be super aggressive,” Murray said of Hardaway after he helped topple Denver outlast the Timberpups this past December. “He understands the game — time of the game, flow of the game, where to find shots, (and how to) just be a winner. He cares about playing hard.

“Whether he’s missing or making shots, he keeps that same energy, that same aggressiveness. That’s all you can ask for. He has been a true veteran for us.”

This ain’t 2024 anymore. These Nuggets have got their ducks in a row. And watching the Timberwolves goofs who’ve barked on social media eat their words is going to be absolutely quacktacular.

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 �ٷɾ�������on 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.

Oklahoma City is irritating, but never stops winning. The Thunder arrive in Denver on Friday with the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed secured, and victories in 19 of their last 20 games.

They have the Great One in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the runaway favorite for back-to-back MVP honors. And the Grate One in Lu Dort, the willing villain in this budding rivalry. They also have roughly nine players named Jalen Williams, each better than the last.

The Thunder are a problem. And not the only one. The Spurs are not going anywhere, too young to know any better.

So as much as we want to declare the Nuggets a championship team — they own their first 10-game winning streak since 2013 — understand what that means.

It would require making history. No biggie, right?

The Nuggets are on a well-timed heater with the playoffs lurking. A week ago, a Friday smackdown with the Thunder would have been must-watch theatre, but the stakes have changed. Denver has snatched the No. 3 seed from the free-falling Lakers, and OKC has no reason to play its starters.

So this is not the litmus test we all wanted.

Soon enough, we will find out if the Nuggets’ frailties are too prominent to advance through the postseason turnstiles.

They have qualities that could, even should, make them the best. They also have issues that could leave them burdened by regret.

How can a team with Nikola Jokic, once again assuming the title of best player in the world, be vulnerable?

How can a team playing like this get clobbered over the head in the playoffs?

There are two things that you need to get comfortable with if convinced a parade sequel is possible: The 2006 Miami Heat. And defense.

Miami is the last champion to topple multiple 60-win teams in the postseason. Since 1993, it has only been done by the Bulls (three times), the 1995 Rockets and Heat. The Magic knocked out a pair of 60-win clubs in 2009, but lost in the Finals to the Lakers.

Five times in 33 seasons resulted in a ring, and more than half of the feats involved Michael Jordan. It doesn’t exactly soothe the nerves.

OKC makes the skin crawl, and San Antonio’s new car smell is annoying, but taking them both out would be more impressive than Rocky’s half-court bank shot.

It would be the most unlikely title since the 1997 Broncos, who eliminated the Chiefs and Steelers on the road and dismissed the Packers as the biggest underdog since the Jets in Super Bowl III. That team, forever remembered in our region, was motivated to capture the franchise’s first title for John Elway.

Win one for Jonas doesn’t exactly have the same ring to it.

But if you don’t believe in the Nuggets now, you never will. They have capitalized on a soft stretch in a league where one-third of the teams are tanking. Their health has improved, save for Peyton Watson’s absence, and their opening night starting lineup is 18-5.

The Nuggets outlasted the Spurs last Saturday, an overtime victory where Jokic served notice to Victor Wembanyama that he can make his MVP case at the podium, but not on the court against him.

Everything about the victory illustrated what could make this 2023 all over again.

But the truth is, the Nuggets caught a break that postseason. They plowed through the Timberwolves, Suns, Lakers and Heat. Not one of those opponents had 46 regular-season wins, let alone 60.

The Nuggets need not apologize for the path, but it was the autobahn compared to the mountainous terrain that awaits.

What makes the climb so tough? The Nuggets’ flirtation with defense.

“I think we need to do a better job of (it),” guard Christian Braun said.

Or as coach David Adelman put it, “At some point you have to sit down and guard.”

As it stands, there is poetry in the Nuggets’ offense, but no symmetry with all other phases. In recent wins, the Nuggets yielded 72 first-half points to the Blazers — rhymes with average — and the barnstorming Memphis G-League All-Stars.

They suffocated the Blazers in the fourth. And the Grizzlies in the third.

Why does it take embarrassment to get that type of effort?

The wins are something. But they will mean nothing if the Nuggets cannot play on both ends of the floor.

The dirty little secret is this: The Nuggets will not survive prolonged defensive lapses against the Spurs or Thunder, especially on the road. And they will have to steal a game on those courts to move on.

“We have flipped defensively at some point in all these games. We have been inconsistent all year with that,” Adelman admitted. “When we get stops and defensive rebounds…  we get fast break points to complement the shooting, the post-ups, all those things, and we are really hard to beat.”

The Nuggets have demonstrated they can do it. But it requires, as Adelman explained, “really good focus.” There can be hiccups. Not gasps. There can be mistakes. But not a layup line of blow-bys.

The Nuggets are impossible to guard when they blend transition buckets with their half-court motion offense. They have the lineup and the bench to defeat any of their playoff opponents. They also have a defense that could deliver a first-round exit.

Go ahead, feel good about what the Nuggets are doing, about where they stand.

But stopping the clap of Thunder and rattle of Spurs calls for something special. It demands going down in history for making one of the most improbable playoff runs our state has ever seen.

Which is a shame, really, because Adelman’s done a better job in his first season as Nuggets coach than social media would ever let on.

We’ve devoted a lot of bandwidth to the games Adelman has let slip away this regular season.

Yet ask yourself this: What would’ve happened in those 17 tilts the Nuggets played earlier this season without Nikola Jokic if Michael Malone was still coaching this team?

They wouldn’t have gone 11-6. I’ll promise you that.

Adelman won 11 of the 17 games he coached this season when the Joker was inactive or didn’t dress. Context: Malone went 11-16 from 2022-2025 in non-Jokic games. More context: Malone was 2-6 in the eight non-Joker games prior to that.

Say what you will about DA, the motivational speaker, DA the wordsmith, DA in the locker room, or DA at the postgame podium. The man can coach.

We mention this because of the calendar. The Great Nuggets Purge celebrates its first birthday on Wednesday. On April 8, 2025, Josh Kroenke dismissed Malone as coach and Calvin Booth as general manager, ending years of awkward, often conflicting news conferences and months of behind-the-curtain tensions.

Yes, Malone, the winningest coach in franchise history, was done dirty in the deal. But the move hasn’t exactly aged poorly so far, has it?

On Tuesday, Malone was officially introduced as the new men’s hoops coach at North Carolina. Tar Heels brass celebrated Purge Day by handing Malone a $50-million gift card. Pretty nice parachute, if you can get it.

The Nuggets (51-28), meanwhile, entertain the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night at Ball Arena, having won nine in a row and vaulted the LOLakers into the third spot of the Western Conference playoff bracket in the process.

The Grizz (25-54) are the last team to beat Denver, notching a 125-118 stunner in Bluff City on March 18 in the second half of a Nuggets back-to-back.

On this day last April, the Nuggets’ record was 47-32. They’d gone 3-7 since St. Patrick’s Day, had lost four straight, and were fading fast. They were 17.5 games back of conference-leading Oklahoma City.

On Tuesday, after a wild OT win over Portland, the Nuggets had won 51 games and were 11.5 games back of OKC. They’re 9-0 since March 19.

So: Did Josh make the right call?

From a chemistry standpoint, there’s no doubt. The organizational “vibe” is better, by all accounts. And, sure, Adelman has a deeper, better, more modular, and more veteran roster than Malone got in either of the previous two campaigns.

Would Booth have gotten the green light to trade Michael Porter Jr.? It’s tough to say. But what his replacements, Jon Wallace and Ben Tenzer, pulled off by swapping MPJ to the Nets opened up desperately-needed cap space. Which, in turn, allowed the Nuggets to turn one very good player (Porter) into four pretty good veteran ones (Cam Johnson, Bruce Brown, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jonas Valanciunas). Which, in hindsight, helped Denver to weather its non-Jokic month, too.

But be careful with revisionist history.

DA Ball at Ball can be an acquired taste. The defense continues to go as far as Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson can carry it, and the two have rarely played together since Christmas. Denver rallied Monday night against Portland, but gave up a whopping 25 3-pointers along the way. It feels as if at least 15 different players have put up career shooting nights against this bunch.

But if the Nuggets win Wednesday, it’ll be 10 straight victories — something no Denver team has done in the Jokic Era.

Shouldn’t Adelman be getting some flowers for that, at least? His 51 wins are the most ever by a first-year Nuggets coach in the NBA era during a full initial season. Larry Brown still holds the first-year record overall, with a 65-19 ABA mark in 1974-75.

Elsewhere, the world keeps turning. Malone held his inaugural UNC news conference on Tuesday. His first collegiate head-coaching job is one of the bluest of blue bloods — and hottest seats in the sport. Since Dean Smith hung up his gilded whistle in 1997, the three coaches who’ve followed (Bill Gutheridge, Matt Doherty, Hubert Davis) who weren’t Roy Williams averaged just 3.7 seasons each at the helm.

Note to Triangle media: Michael can be as cuddly as a New York cabbie, with the patience and vocabulary to match. He suffers fools ungladly, although often with humor. To wit, when a reporter on Tuesday mentioned the coach’s “tenacious” defense with the Nuggets, Malone replied, “It wasn’t always tenacious.”

Laughed at that one.

Still, deep down, Michael’s a family guy. Malone’s daughter, Bridget, is in her second season with the UNC volleyball team after a stellar run at Mountain Vista High School. Chapel Hill is one of the premier college towns in America. Wish him well. Wish him luck. With that fan base, he’ll need it.

“He belongs in coaching,” Adelman said of Malone on Monday. “And that’s what he should be doing.”

A month earlier, funny enough, Booth also went the college route. . The Lions finished 12-20 a year ago and have reached the Big Dance just once since 2010. Happy Valley is gorgeous (significantly less so in the winter), but it’s also a wrestling school the way DU is a hockey one. Wish him luck, too.

Ain’t it funny how time flies when everybody’s pulling in the same direction? A year after Purge Day, Malone’s a Tar Heel. Booth’s a Nittany Lion. And the Nuggets, in spite of themselves, might be better off.

Peyton Watson is considered week-to-week with a right hamstring strain after he left Wednesday’s game at Utah feeling tight, coach David Adelman said.

And so after their long, slow climb back to full health, the Nuggets will climb again. They had about a week to catch their breath with their opening-day rotation available.

Adelman didn’t rule out the possibility that Watson could return before the end of the regular season, but Denver has only five games remaining, followed by a few days of rest and preparation for a first-round playoff series that was clinched this week.

“I mean, the hope would be playing next week,” Adelman said after practice Friday. “… I think it’s being careful with him. At the same time, competitively, wanting him back as soon as he feels comfortable, and also that week leading into the playoffs, you hope he’s able to go through the preparation of what it is to play in a Game 1. So we’ll see how it goes.”

Watson initially injured his right hamstring Feb. 4 in New York, causing him to miss six weeks. After slow-playing the final stages of his recovery process to be extra cautious, he returned on March 22 and played in five games before the setback. He said on Tuesday that he felt ready to increase his minutes from 20. But he also suggested that he hadn’t felt like himself in Denver’s last two games.

“This is the longest I’ve ever been out, so I thought once I got over the hump of being back that I was gonna stop having problems with my body,” Watson said before the team flew to Utah. “The first game I came back, I felt amazing. The second game I came back, I felt amazing. But the third and fourth game, I’m like, ah, I kind of feel like how I did some of those days during the rehab process. So I think just, I saw the light at the end of the tunnel.”

The 23-year-old wing is averaging 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game this season on 49.1% shooting from the field and a 41.1% clip from 3-point range. He’ll be a restricted free agent this summer.

“So unfortunate,” Adelman said. “He’s had such a good year. I feel for him as a person. Just not having the opportunity to come back and play right now is completely unfair to somebody who’s put the work in.”

Nuggets guard Tim Hardaway Jr. also left the game in Utah — a knee injury in his case — but he was able to participate in practice. The Nuggets are hopeful he’ll be available Saturday afternoon when they host the Spurs, but he’ll be evaluated again before the game to be officially cleared. Spencer Jones (hamstring tightness) didn’t practice Friday and remains day-to-day, Adelman said.

Spurs star center Victor Wembanyama missed Thursday’s win over the Clippers for maintenance reasons, but if he plays in Denver, it’ll be the first time this season the Nuggets will face him. In a new , Wembanyama had surpassed Denver’s Nikola Jokic for second place in the running. The Nuggets will face San Antonio twice in their last five games.

Their first two head-to-head matchups were split, with both decided by five or fewer points even without Wembanyama playing. Watson would have been one of Denver’s go-to matchup options for the 7-foot-4 French phenom, as he was at times last year.

“I think every time you watch (Wembanyama), you see something that you haven’t seen before,” Nuggets guard Christian Braun said. “Obviously, he’s a really talented player, something the game has kind of never seen before. So just the way he plays, the way the team plays around him, it seems like they’re all really coming together and playing well. So they’re a good team. Obviously, Wemby is a different challenge from what we’ve faced before.”

“This team is very underrated for some reason, how deeply and talented they are,” Adelman added. “Their guard play is as good as anybody in the league. I would say their guard depth would be No. 1, in my opinion.”

They remained in fourth with a 130-117 triumph over the Jazz, matching a season-best win streak with their seventh in a row. Denver (49-28) also has five chances now to secure its fourth consecutive 50-win season, starting with Saturday’s matinee against Victor Wembanyama’s Spurs.

Murray adds another All-NBA performance

Jamal Murray’s dazzling season as a shooter could be summed up by the eagerness with which he sought out his 3-pointer early. He started the game on a 9-0 solo run, eventually scoring 15 of his 37 points during the first quarter, entirely on 3s. The exclamation point was a half-court buzzer beater to end the frame, his third of the season (prefaced by a travel that he got away with).

That aggressiveness nullified Nikola Jokic’s disinterest in looking to score for most of the night. The three-time MVP finished with a triple-double, but only after attempting just two shots in the first half.

Murray’s 10-for-16 performance outside the arc improved his efficiency to 43.4% for the season, leapfrogging Kon Knueppel for seventh in the NBA. Nobody in the league has a better percentage on more attempts. Murray also has 13 games this season with 35 or more points after the win in Utah.

Injuries and adjustments

Spencer Jones was out with a hamstring injury in Salt Lake City, so Denver went back to Jonas Valanciunas at backup center. The Lithuanian big man took advantage of the opportunity with a strong outing. The Nuggets tried with more conviction to feed him on the block and play out of his post-ups. He went for 13 points and seven rebounds in 13 minutes, earning eight trips to the line. Denver played a lot of zone at the other end, mostly to good effect. Valanciunas finished a plus-eight. The team’s worst defensive stretch came in the third quarter (with Jokic at center), when the Jazz got downhill easily against a man-to-man scheme.

Peyton Watson was supposed to increase his minutes after lingering around 20 recently, but he left the game in the second quarter when tightness resurfaced in his right hamstring. His night ended at nine minutes instead.

In the same quarter, Jazz wing Ace Bailey ran into Tim Hardaway Jr.’s left knee while landing from a dunk attempt. Hardaway was initially able to shake it off and stay in the game, but he was eventually ruled out with knee soreness. David Adelman turned to Julian Strawther for second-half reinforcements.

About that seeding

According to Basketball Reference, the Nuggets have more than an 85% probability of finishing as either the No. 4 or No. 5 seed in the West. They’ve been taking care of business against a weak schedule recently, but so have the third-place Lakers, who possess the head-to-head tiebreaker over Denver. If there’s going to be a push for No. 3, the Nuggets will need help.

In the more likely case that they’re solidified as either fourth or fifth place by the last weekend of the season, Adelman will have decisions to make about who plays and who doesn’t. No. 4 and No. 5 face each other in the first round of the playoffs, so the only difference between them is which team gets to start and finish the series at home. Houston and Minnesota are the teams trying to catch Denver.

“I think all those teams are very aware they can win on the other teams’ home court. But I would say the advantage of having the first game be at home, to me, is it stays in your routine,” Adelman said Tuesday. “You have a week to prepare, and those first two games, you’re at home for maybe up to 10 days (in a row). So I think that is an advantage, as opposed to starting that tournament in a hotel room. It’s different. … But as it showed last year, we have the crazy game against the Clippers where Aaron dunks the ball (in Los Angeles); Kawhi has a monumental night against us in Game 2 (in Denver).

“But it did come down to Game 7 here. We got it done here. And OKC, they took advantage of what they had, what they earned during the season. So rather be a four, but fully confident that as a five-seed, we’d be fine.”

And Draymond Green may be a lot of things. But the man’s no fool.

“What we’ve seen now is the tip of the iceberg (for Watson). He ain’t even scratched the surface yet,” “Peyton Watson is going to be an elite NBA player … so, y’all keep an eye out for Peyton Watson. That kid is going to be an All-Star. No questions asked.”

Exactly. And yet, because it’s April, because it’s “Where Will LeBron Play Next Year” season, silly questions give way to even sillier suggestions.

On Tuesday, longtime ESPN scribes Dave McMenamin and Tim Bontemps authored a piece for Worldwide Leader’s website — including one that featured the Nuggets. In it, they speculated that Denver and Los Angeles could work out a sign-and-trade that would see the Lakers land Peyton Watson (a former UCLA star and Long Beach native) or Cam Johnson for the King. This was backed by an unnamed source, a “West executive,” who suggested:

“Who is the only guy on (James’) level from a basketball IQ standpoint in the league? Go there and team up with that guy.”

‘There’ would be the Front Range. The ‘only guy’ would be Nikola Jokic. Fun? Sure. Flattering? No doubt. But for Watson? Who ships a 23-year-old player coming into their prime for a soon-to-be 42-year-old? Even if that middle-aged wonder is one of the best five guys to ever play the game?

Yes, Tom Brady won a Super Bowl at age 42. Barry Bonds, at the same age, led the National League in walks (132). Some 44 years earlier, a 42-year-old Warren Spahn led the National League in wins (23). Age is just a number.

Although the numbers in this scenario are bonkers. Especially when you consider that, odds are, James is staying put with the Lakers, popping back to the Cavaliers, or hanging it up. Of the ESPN.com hypotheticals, Denver was fifth on the list — and it’s hard to believe King James’ camp, once push comes to shove, would even have to dig that deep.

But let’s humor the concept for a second.

There’s the cost, for one thing. Watson is a restricted free agent after the season who’s made the Nuggets look bad for not giving him an extension earlier — putting up, as of Tuesday evening, career highs in points (14.9 per game) and rebounds. A show-stopping leaper and defender over his first three seasons on Chopper Circle, at age 23, he’s evolved into a foundational, two-way wing whose jumper now complements years of sky-walking athleticism. He’s also currently sporting a team-friendly $4.36 million cap number. That’s about to be tripled, or quadrupled, by somebody.

King James is slated to hit the open market as an unrestricted free agent coming off a $52.6 million cap hit this season following a $48.7 million hit in ’24-25. If he’s going to give any franchise a “hometown” discount, it’s more likely to be given to his actual hometown — Cleveland — than to the Nuggets. If the Kroenkes can’t afford Watson, how would they turn around and justify stretching the cap that much more for James?

There are the realities of the East vs. the West. If the King wants at least one more ring, more power to him. Oklahoma City’s core is young enough that they’re not going anywhere, and the Spurs with Victor Wembanyama are right behind them. The road back to the Finals in the East through Detroit, Boston and New York is far easier than the brutal hellscape of the current West bracket.

There’s the fit. Remember The Russell Westbrook Experience? Now picture that vibe, times about 50. As part of Team ‘Bron, the Joker might start seeing kinder foul calls come his way more consistently. But when you get The King, you get his demands, his parameters, his show. And maybe his family members, too. In some ways, it wouldn’t be all that unlike The Prime Effect at CU. And yet, this situation is markedly different than Boulder four years ago. The Buffs, at the time, needed an identity besides irrelevance and bad football. The Nuggets don’t.

On the court, James is an alpha who can play with anybody. If you squint hard enough, you can even see LeBron doing for the Nuggets next year what Aaron Gordon, whose health has become a daily concern, does now. Although so could Watson, at a price close to or less than James’ likely asking price.

The genius in building this Nuggets core was not just in finding Jokic and grooming him into a generational big man. It was also in finding pieces that accented Joker’s ridiculous, prodigious strengths (hands, feet, vision, touch, IQ, passing, shooting, ball-handling, strength, physicality, dexterity, anticipation, etc., etc.) while simultaneously lessening the impact of his few on-court weaknesses (rim protection, straight-line speed).

Jokic could find the open man in the middle of a crowded supermarket, so you surround him with excellent spot-up shooters (Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., Tim Hardaway Jr., Aaron Gordon, etc., etc.) and let him pick from several poisons. He can hit an earwig in stride from 80 yards away, so you give him superlative sprinters and finishers on runouts (Also Gordon, Christian Braun, Peyton Watson, Bruce Brown, etc., etc.). He’ll contest shots, but probably won’t swat many into the second row — so you pair him with defenders who can cut off the supply chain of drivers at the head (Also AG, also Watson, also Braun, also Brown, etc., etc.).

Even at age 41, King James is still an elite scoring machine (20.7 points per game as of Wednesday). That long-distance shooting, though, has been slipping — James’ 41% conversion rate on 3-pointers in ’23-24 dropped to 37.6% last season and was at 31.4% as of Wednesday, a dip of 10% over about three years.

Watson, meanwhile, is trending in the exact opposite direction on his treys. Two seasons ago? 29.6%. A year ago? 35.3%. This season, before Wednesday? 41.5%.

And then there’s the defense. , James went into Wednesday evening with a Defensive Rating (DR) of 116 opponent points allowed per 100 possessions (lower is better), and that number has been trending the wrong way, too. Last season, LeBron’s DR was 114, the same as the season before that. In ’22-23, that DR was 113. In ’21-22, it was 111. Career blocks per 100 possessions: 1.0 — 0.9 this season, 0.8 two years prior.

While Watson’s DR, per Basketball-Reference, Even in a “down” defensive year for P-Swat, he was blocking 1.9 shots per 100 possessions this season before the midweek Utah trip, after 2.7 stuffs per 100 possessions in ’24-25 and 2.9 per 100 in ’23-24.

“Peyton Watson has gotten so much better,” Green continued. “He clearly has a high-level processor. When you have a high-level processor in this league, it’s an advantage. It’s very understated, but a very big advantage.”

Why give that one up so soon? When it comes to the question of an old King or a young Watson for the Nuggets next season,