Brooklyn’s Michael Porter Jr. returned from illness just in time to face the team that traded him over the summer. And he made that reunion a winning one.
Porter led the Nets to a 127-115 victory over the Nuggets before a sellout crowd of 17,548 at Barclays Center on Sunday.
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It snapped a three-game skid, and was especially sweet for Porter, who won the 2023 title with the Nuggets only to be salary dumped last summer by Denver.
“I was excited for that first matchup against them, really since I’ve been traded and just how that whole thing went down. I was looking forward to playing against those guys, for sure,” said Porter. “So it’s been circled on my calendar for a minute. I probably felt more nervous for this one than a lot of other games. So it was fun.”
Michael Porter Jr. of the Brooklyn Nets slams the ball in the second half. The Brooklyn Nets defeat the Denver Nuggets at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, Sunday, January 04, 2026. JASON SZENES/ NY POST
The Nets (11-22) got on the glass and outrebounded Denver 44-33. That fueled a balanced attack with a season-high six players mustering at least 13 points. But it was Porter who led the way with 27 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.
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Though a starter on Denver’s 2023 title team, Porter took a backseat to the Nikola Jokic-Jamal Murray two-man game. The Nets dealt Cam Johnson for Porter and Denver’s 2032 first-round pick, a swap that’s looking like a Brooklyn steal.
“He’s got a lot of freedom here. This trade was good for everybody. He won a championship with us. He’s one of the main reasons we did it,” said Nuggets coach David Adelman. “Any time you win the whole thing, the role was appropriate. Michael, we know how talented he is.
“Mike has this ability, he always has, but for us, he sacrificed…Michael, I thought we used him in the right way. I’m sure he’d disagree with me completely, which is OK, but we won a lot of games doing it that way. It’s cool to see him have some more freedom here under Jordi [Fernández].”
Adelman was a Nuggets assistant alongside Fernández, so he knows both the Nets star and their coach. He tried to take Porter away Sunday, chasing him in the ball screens and bringing up the Denver big men to trap the ball out of his hands.
Michael Porter Jr. of the Brooklyn Nets looks for the open man as Daron Holmes II of the Denver Nuggets defends in the second half. The Brooklyn Nets defeat the Denver Nuggets at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, Sunday, January 04, 2026. JASON SZENES/ NY POST
None of it worked.
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That’s how dangerous Porter has become, the only player in the East averaging 25 points and seven boards. The Nets are winless (0-6) without him, but have won eight of their past 11 with him.
“I feel the difference when a coach really believes in me, and when they second guess the shots you take,” said Porter. “Jordi and this whole Nets organization’s done a great job of that with me and with the whole team.”
With both Jokic and Johnson out with knee injuries, Murray poured in 27 points with 16 assists, while Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 26.
But the Nets had enough to overcome that, Porter’s production backed by Noah Clowney (20 points) and Day’Ron Sharpe. The latter filled in admirably for Nic Claxton with 17 points, six boards, four assists and three steals.
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“Coming in, I told everybody we’re locked in,” said Sharpe. “We just wanted to rally as a team to help get the Dub for [Porter].”
Brooklyn was clinging to a 63-56 edge after Murray fed Peyton Watson 1:51 into the second half. But they ripped off a 21-10 run over the next five minutes, including the final seven straight to seize control.
The Nets hit eight of nine shots in the blitz, including all four from deep. Egor Dëmin had five points and two assists in the run, including the final dagger off a Porter pass to make it 84-66 with 5:10 left in the third.
The lead never dipped below double digits, the Nets seeing the game out behind Porter.
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“Jamal mentioned before the tipoff, ‘It’s so weird actually going against you instead of being with you.’ Those are my brothers,” said Porter. “I was with those guys more than I was with my family, every single day. We won the championship together…To compete against each other instead of with each other is definitely a different experience, but it’s the nature of the sport.”