Heavily hampered by injury and on the second night of a back-to-back, the Denver Nuggets pushed as much as they could against the New York Knicks before going down in double overtime 134-127 Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.
It’s a season-worst third straight loss for the Nuggets — and their second in as many nights — who fell to 33-19 while losing both Peyton Watson and Spencer Jones to injuries along the way.
Jamal Murray finished with 39 points after riding a hot first quarter of 20 points, while Nikola Jokic recorded 30 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists for his first triple-double since returning from a month-long knee injury. The performance tied Jokic with Oscar Robertson for second-most triple-doubles in NBA history.
But it wasn’t a great night for either star. Murray played 48 minutes while Jokic logged 45 minutes — season highs for both in just Jokic’s fourth game back from injury, when he was supposed to be on a minutes restriction. Murray faded after his explosive first quarter, missing 17 shots, while Jokic went 3-for-14 from the field in the fourth quarter and overtime periods.
“Pretty much there was an ‘I don’t care’ factor once you got to overtime,” coach David Adelman said of the minutes restriction. “We talked about it, and then the medical staff said, ‘No, he’s fine to go.’ I think the issue would have been if I sat him too long and then tried to get him back in for key moments.”
Jalen Brunson led New York with 42 points and nine assists, including 15 in the third quarter that pushed the Knicks to a nine-point lead.
Julian Strawther provided a spark with 11 points off the bench, including key contributions in the fourth quarter that helped Denver force overtime. Tim Hardaway Jr. added 19 points.
But it was Brunson as the boss again, scoring 10 points in the second overtime while Denver managed just eight as a team. The Knicks went on an 8-0 run in the second overtime led by Brunson to seal the victory. The Nuggets shot just 2-of-15 from three in the extra periods.
Jones played just 12 minutes before leaving with a head injury, while Watson exited in the fourth quarter with what appeared to be a right hamstring issue. Adelman said the team is awaiting MRI results on Watson’s hamstring, and the early outlook doesn’t sound promising. Wednesday was the final day Jones was eligible to play for the Nuggets on a two-way contract, as Denver will need to convert him to a full-time player before he can take the floor again.
“It’s deflating when you see guys going down around you, and you’re trying to build something,” Adelman said.
Watson and Jones join Cameron Johnson and Aaron Gordon on the shelf — four forwards now sidelined as part of the bevy of issues the Nuggets have faced this year.
But one player who just returned Tuesday, Christian Braun, made some giant plays. He got a key late-game stop on Brunson and hit the two free throws that sent the game into double overtime. But the Nuggets might never have needed to get those makes had the officials not erroneously called an offensive foul on him 90 seconds earlier. The Nuggets won the challenge but lost their final timeout to do so, which meant they couldn’t draw up a play on what ended up being a listless final possession of overtime that was only bailed out by Braun drawing a loose-ball foul going for a rebound.
“If I challenge a play and win the challenge in overtime, and lose my challenge and lose my last timeout, and lose control of the possession game where I just had to go because I had no timeouts left — I think they have to look at that,” Adelman said frustrated and wanting a rule change. “If I’m winning the challenge with under a minute to go in a game, there should be some kind of positive coming back my way.”
Still, for all the chaos, the game showcased why these two teams sit atop their conferences. It featured 20 lead changes and was tied 19 times — perhaps an NBA Finals preview.
“It’s just so crazy, some of these names that some of these guys are tying right now,” Adelman said. “Even after a loss, it just hits me, just knowing my father played against Oscar Robertson. It’s just an incredible feat to tie somebody that, in my opinion, is one of the most underrated players of all time.”
What’s next for the Nuggets?
The Nuggets finish their three-game road trip in Chicago on Saturday night. Then the team returns home for two games on Monday and Wednesday to finish the first half of the season before the All-Star break.
