The Denver Nuggets are dealing with significant injuries at the moment. The players currently out are Nikola Jokic (hyperextended left knee), Cameron Johnson (right knee contusion), guard Tamar Bates (foot), centre Jonas Valanciunas (right calf strain), Tim Hardaway Jr. (illness), and Jamaal Murray (left ankle sprain). However, some how and some way, the Nuggets gutted out a very impressive 125-124 overtime win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday.
This was Denver’s B lineup. They were a 15 point underdog, but won the game by a single point. This was the second time this season that a 15 point underdog won a NBA game. On New Year’s Eve, the Washington Wizards beat the Milwaukee Bucks 114-113 as a 15 point underdog.
In the Nuggets overtime win, Nuggets shooting guard Bruce Brown of Boston, Massachusetts won the game with a two-point lay-up with five seconds left. Tyrese Maxey then missed a game-winning shot that would have given Philadelphia the win.
Six Nuggets reached double digits in scoring. Shooting guard Jalen Pickett of Rochester, New York led the way with 29 points. Small forward Peyton Watson of Beverly Hills, California had 24 points, power forward Zeke Nnaji of Hopkins, Minnesota had 21 points, Brown had 19 points, power forward Hunter Tyson of Monroe, North Carolina had 14 points, and small forward Spencer Jones of Shawnee Mission, Kansas had 10 points.
The Nuggets improved to a record of 24 wins and 12 losses. They are in third place in the Western Conference, only behind the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs. Anyway you look at it, David Adelman is making a name for himself as a fine NBA head coach.
