The Denver Nuggets started out on their season long, seven game, road trip with a visit to the Orlando Magic who they saw in Denver just over a week ago. The Nuggets used a big run in the second quarter behind their stars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray to get a lead but Desmond Bane and Anthony Black led a comeback for the Magic in the second half to make a close finish. Murray got the final shot, but he couldn’t get it to fall and the Nuggets let a win slip through their fingers with the Magic earning a 127-126 victory.

Murray started the scoring for the Nuggets and helped get Denver a small lead before the Magic responded with a run of their own. Black was hitting threes in the corner with reckless abandon which extended the run to 15-2 and put the Magic up by a half dozen. Denver’s starters refocused and went back to Jokic and Murray on offense. That brought them back on a 12-2 run and gave them the lead going into the stretch run of the quarter. Denver’s bench unit was in with Jokic while Orlando’s subs were struggling to score. The Nuggets lead grew while the lid remained on the Magic’s basket. The quarter ended with Denver leading 31-23.

The Nuggets went with four guards and Jonas Valanciunas to start the second and they were not as successful on offense. They managed just three points in the first three minutes but the Magic still couldn’t get much going on offense either. Denver kept a small lead while both teams rested their top guys. Bane was the best player on the court and it looked like it, after he got Orlando back within a point David Adelman took a timeout to bring Murray back in the game. The Magic countered with Paolo Banchero returning and they briefly took back the lead. The starters returned shortly after that which helped the Nuggets get back in front but baskets were still hard to come by and they struggled with turnovers. The pace of the game dialed up, Jokic started scoring and Denver went on a 12-3 run to get up nine with under three minutes to go. Joker kept dominating, particularly in the paint, and the lead was up over double digits heading down the stretch. It ended up being a 28-4 run to close the half and the Nuggets in front 62-48.

It was a little sluggish to start the quarter for Denver’s offense before Spencer Jones had a great sequence where he hit a corner three, blocked Banchero in the lane and then tipped back in a miss for an and-1. Orlando’s backcourt continued to be their main source of offense with Bane and Black attacking the basket and hitting shots. They sparked an 11-2 run to pull the lead back below ten and make the Nuggets call a timeout. The Magic kept chipping away with their shots starting to fall but Jokic and Jones (?) kept the Nuggets in front. The lead stayed just under ten with the quarter progressing, both teams were hitting shots as their reserves started to come in. The pace stayed quick and both teams kept scoring with Jokic remaining the constant force on Denver’s end. At the end of the third the Nuggets still led 93-84.

Denver opened the fourth quarter opened with the same group that struggled in the second (Tim Hardaway Jr, Jalen Pickett, Bruce Brown, Julian Strawther & Valanciunas). Everything ground to a halt while the refs called a foul on pretty much every possession in the first minute and a half. Orlando used that to their advantage and trimmed the lead with Bane again leading their offense. After he got two free throws on a successful challenge from Jamahl Mosley, Bane gave Orlando their first lead since the second quarter and Jokic was back in. Murray slowed down the Magic’s attack briefly by getting a couple trips to the free throw line but Orlando kept running and getting in the paint. The Nuggets needed to start getting stops to have some hopes of stealing a win but they were struggling to string them together. They finally started tightening up and pulled back within three on a 13-3 run. Hardaway Jr. hit a three with just under three minutes to get Denver the lead back 118-117. Black and Bane continued to score for the Magic and they fought back. The refs called some more fouls and the game got set up for a final shot with from Denver with the Nuggets trailing by one. It was a bit of a scramble on the final possession, but Murray got a good look. He couldn’t convert and Denver loses another game on a ball that rims out at the buzzer. Magic win 127-126.

JAMAL MURRAY GAME WINNER 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/GiX5irnqhJ

— Logion Noops (@LogionNoops) December 28, 2025