12 moments that defined the Nuggets’ magical season
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Denver’s historic run has been months in the making. Here are 12 of the team’s defining moments:
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All smiles
Date: Oct. 19
Score: Jazz 123, Nuggets 102
Jamal Murray scored just 12 points in a season-opening loss to Utah, yet after the game, you couldn’t wipe the smile off his face. For the first time since tearing his ACL in April of 2021, Murray was back on the court for a regular-season game. “I’ve never smiled in a loss before,” he said after the game. Murray considered returning late in the regular season during the prior year but knew he needed to allow his left knee to recover longer. His return served as a landmark moment for him and one that had been 18 months in the making.
MPJ buying in
Date: Oct. 22
Score: Nuggets 122, Thunder 117
Michael Porter Jr., back after missing most of last season following his third back surgery, showed early signs this season that he was committed and willing defensively. After racking up a handful of steals and blocks a few games in, not to mention diving on the floor, it was a noticeable development that drew praise from head coach Michael Malone. “What Michael showed me is that, will he ever be Scottie Pippen? Probably not. … I want him to be the best version of Michael Porter Jr. he can be, and right now what he’s showing me is that he cares.” Porter’s buy-in can’t be overstated.
Bouncing back
Date: Nov. 13
Score: Nuggets 126, Bulls 103
Michael Porter Jr. rained in a season-high 31 points in just 24 minutes of work at Chicago, including burying 6 of 9 from 3-point range. His bounce-back game followed an awful showing in Boston and prompted a text from Porter to Malone where he apologized for not being engaged. After torching the Bulls, Porter showed immense maturity when discussing accountability. “You gotta grow,” he said. “You can’t always blame other people.”
Game-winner in Rip City
Date: Dec. 8
Score: Nuggets 121, Trail Blazers 120
With time ticking down in the fourth quarter at Portland, Jamal Murray leaned into old habits. Murray drained a game-winning corner 3-pointer in the face of former teammate Jerami Grant to remind everyone in the league just how clutch he was. It was a moment Nuggets coach Michael Malone has often cited when asked when he knew Murray was back. “There were so many doubts of, ‘Am I gonna be different? Am I gonna play the same? Am I gonna be worth it?’” Murray said from a cramped locker room that night.
Matching Wilt
Date: Dec. 18
Score: Nuggets 119, Hornets 115
Nikola Jokic assembled a line of 40 points, 27 rebounds, 10 assists and two steals against the Charlotte Hornets, becoming the first player to do so since Wilt Chamberlain in 1968. “That was good,” Jokic mused nonchalantly. By halftime, Jokic had consumed 20 rebounds. “Nikola is a generational talent,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. It was also his fifth triple-double of the nascent season.
Christmas night jam
Date: Dec. 25
Score: Nuggets 128, Suns 125, OT
Aaron Gordon called his explosion above Landry Shamet the best in-game dunk he’d ever had. Jamal Murray deemed it the dunk of the year … and there were still four months left in the regular season. Gordon exploded for a rim-rattling dunk over the Phoenix Suns on Christmas Night that was as powerful as it was stunning. The Nuggets, thanks to Gordon’s aerial acrobatics, survived the Suns in overtime, and Denver had its viral moment from the season.
“Are you not entertained?”
Date: Jan. 15
Score: Nuggets 119, Magic 116
The game tied at 116 with only a few seconds left, Nikola Jokic came through once again. He caught the ball near the top of the arc and sunk a game-winning 3-pointer over the visiting Magic. “Are you not entertained?” Nuggets coach Michael Malone joked after his franchise centerpiece came through in the clutch yet again. In another show of dominance at home, it happened to be the Nuggets’ 13th straight win at Ball Arena.
No stat-padding here
Date: Feb. 28
Score: Nuggets 133, Rockets 112
Nikola Jokic had already secured the franchise’s all-time record for assists in mid-January but his 100th career-triple-double came with a bit more spice. After securing yet another triple-double, this time in just 28 minutes in a win over the Rockets, Jokic quipped: “Not bad for a stat-padder.” He was, of course, speaking to the wild claims that he inflates his numbers. It was one of the few times Jokic had ever spoken to his critics.
Coming together
Date: March 18
Score: Nuggets 119, Pistons 100
The Nuggets had lost four in a row and were about to start a long East Coast swing. They’d dropped a game in Toronto when the Nuggets’ veterans decided to intervene. “Who do we want to be?” Kentavious Caldwell-Pope said when asked about the veteran-led meeting. Between Caldwell-Pope, DeAndre Jordan, Jeff Green and Ish Smith, Denver’s veterans had made their point. This was a championship-caliber team that needed to start carrying itself as such.
Killing them with kindness
Date: May 9
Score: Nuggets 118, Suns 102
During an impromptu pre-game meeting, Nikola Jokic offered an olive branch to Suns owner Mat Ishbia when he passed him a ball from his warmups. It effectively ended a beef from the prior game, even though Jokic had to pay a fine following their Game 4 dustup in the corner of the Footprint Center. Joker killed him with kindness, then turned the knife on his Suns with a 29-point, 13-rebound, 12-assist triple-double that effectively turned the tide of the Western Conference semifinal series.
Jamal catches fire
Date: May 18
Score: Nuggets 108, Lakers 103
Hot doesn’t even begin to describe Jamal Murray in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals against the Lakers. Murray was flammable in the fourth quarter when he scored 23 of his 37 points to stake the Nuggets to a commanding 2-0 lead over LeBron James’ Lakers. Murray went big-game hunting with a few audacious 3-pointers to whip Ball Arena into a frenzy. What preempted the eruption? Murray said it was meditation. “Sometimes I need to settle the hell down,” he said.
No rest for the Joker
Date: May 22
Score: Nuggets 113, Lakers 111
Nikola Jokic went into Los Angeles and silenced the Lakers’ star-studded crowd. His eighth triple-double of the postseason set an NBA record and thrust the Nuggets into their first-ever NBA Finals with a 4-0 sweep. Having done the hard work, Jokic refused to break routine. In a makeshift weight room behind a black curtain, Jokic got a postgame lift in while listening to none other than “The Joker” by The Steve Miller Band.
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