The Denver Nuggets survived a wild 125-123 road win over the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday, with Nikola Jokic finishing with a monster 23-point, 17-rebound and 17-assist performance, adding the game-winner with just 11 seconds left.

It wasn’t pretty, but it keeps Denver’s playoff positioning dreams alive heading into the season’s final nine games.

The three-time MVP was in vintage form, posting his third-fastest triple-double ever (by game time) at 11:49 left in the third quarter. It’s his 17th career 20-15-15 game — that’s 27% of all such performances in NBA history since 1964.

“The whole time we were up 15, I think the moment they came back again, 15, they came back and they made it dangerous at the end,” Jokic said postgame. “I think we should just not turn the ball. Don’t give him any hope, but it happens. And again, you made some we made some important shots, and that’s why we won the game.”

As Jokic said, it almost got away from Denver late. The Suns shot 37 free throws, committed just three turnovers, hit four more threes than the Nuggets. The game came down to the clutch, something Denver has struggled with this year. Coming into the night, the Nuggets were 18-19 in clutch situations with a -11.7 net rating, fifth-worst in the league. This was also their 24th clutch road game of the season, most in the NBA.

Jamal Murray finished with 21 points and six assists, struggling for most of the night but delivering when it mattered. He improved to 19-2 in his career against Devin Booker, hitting back-to-back clutch mid-range shots late and scoring 11 points with three assists in the fourth quarter on efficient shooting.

“We had control of the game,” head coach David Adelman said. “But a lot of mature responses, a lot of good execution, getting the ball to the right people in the right places.”

That execution included an old-school Hack-a-Oso strategy down the stretch. Phoenix center Oso Ighodaro went to the line multiple times late as Denver tried to steal possessions from the Suns’ best players.

“We felt like with the lead and kind of going possession by possession, if we took care of the ball, you know, and that’s stealing possessions from Devin Booker and those kind of guys,” Adelman explained. “To his credit, he made the two in a row. We went away from it. It was effective earlier. But he’s a really talented young player.”

The bench also provided crucial energy. Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 18 points on 4-of-8 from three, while Julian Strawther added seven points in just eight minutes, with a plus-12 rating. The small-ball lineups without Jonas Valanciunas again proved effective.

Denver caught a break facing a Suns team that has lost five of its last six and is dealing with significant injuries. Phoenix is hanging onto the seventh seed but looked vulnerable throughout — though their fight was impressive.

A PACKED STAT SHEET FOR THE JOKER IN THE WIN!

23 PTS
17 REB
17 AST
1 GW SHOT pic.twitter.com/69DfeIkMcu

— NBA on NBC and Peacock (@NBAonNBC) March 25, 2026

Seeking the 3 seed

The Nuggets had 10 games left coming into Tuesday. In order to get the No. 3 seed and pass the Los Angeles Lakers here’s what both teams would need to do in the final ten games:

LA: 8-2 or better, they clinch

LA: 7-3 DEN: 10-0

LA: 6-4 DEN: 9-1

LA: 5-5 DEN: 8-2

LA: 4-6 DEN: 7-3

With the Lakers having the tiebreaker it’ll be tough but the win against the Suns keeps hopes alive for the Nuggets. It also means it’s highly unlikely this late in the season that the Nuggets would fall to or below the Suns and into the Play-In. So Tuesday’s win de facto clinched a playoff spot for the Nuggets.

Here’s the full picture out West:

RK
Team
W
L
PCT
GB
HOME
AWAY
DIV
CONF
PPG
OPP PPG
DIFF
STRK
L10

1
Oklahoma City Thunder (x)
57
15
.792
–
29-6
28-8
11-3
37-9
118.7
107.5
+11.2
W12
10-0

2
San Antonio Spurs (y)
54
18
.750
3
28-7
25-11
11-3
31-14
119.2
111.7
+7.5
W6
9-1

3
Los Angeles Lakers
46
26
.639
11
23-12
23-14
8-7
30-16
116.4
114.9
+1.5
L1
9-1

4
Denver Nuggets
45
28
.616
12.5
21-13
24-15
7-5
27-16
120.9
116.5
+4.4
W3
6-4

5
Minnesota Timberwolves
44
28
.611
13
24-13
20-15
9-7
27-21
118.4
114.5
+3.9
W1
5-5

6
Houston Rockets
43
28
.606
13.5
25-10
18-18
7-6
23-21
114.2
110.2
+4.0
L1
5-5

7
Phoenix Suns
40
33
.548
17.5
23-15
17-18
10-6
25-21
112.4
111.2
+1.2
L1
4-6

8
LA Clippers
36
36
.500
21
20-15
16-21
8-6
22-23
113.8
112.8
+1.0
W2
6-4

9
Portland Trail Blazers
36
37
.493
21.5
19-16
17-21
7-8
25-20
115.3
117.0
-1.7
W1
6-4

10
Golden State Warriors
34
38
.472
23
19-15
15-23
6-6
23-22
115.1
114.9
+0.2
W1
2-8

11
New Orleans Pelicans (e)
25
48
.342
32.5
16-22
9-26
7-8
16-30
115.5
119.2
-3.7
L2
6-4

12
Memphis Grizzlies
24
47
.338
32.5
12-21
11-25
6-7
19-27
115.3
119.1
-3.8
L3
1-9

13
Dallas Mavericks (e)
23
49
.319
34
14-23
9-25
4-11
12-32
113.8
119.0
-5.2
L4
2-8

14
Utah Jazz (e)
21
51
.292
36
13-24
8-27
1-12
11-33
117.4
125.1
-7.7
L2
3-7

15
Sacramento Kings (e)
19
54
.260
38.5
13-25
6-29
3-10
12-35
110.8
121.2
-10.4
L1
5-5

Key: x – Clinched playoff spot | y – Clinched division | e – Eliminated from playoffs

What’s next for the Nuggets?

For the fourth time in four weeks, the Nuggets tip off two basketball games within 24 hours, coming back home late tonight to host the Mavericks in a late-night affair. It’s the team’s final back-to-back of the season, 17th without rest this season, most in the NBA, and Wednesday’s game is one of seven at Ball Arena of the team’s final nine games.