The stars were out in Denver tonight. Refusing to let the Nuggets drop another winnable game due to diabolical scheduling, Jamal Murray and Nikola Joki\u0107 put the league on notice that the best two-man game of a generation would like a word before the story of 2026 is inked.<\/p>\n
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Mar 25, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) controls the ball as Dallas Mavericks guard Max Christie (00) and forward Dwight Powell (7) defend in the second quarter at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
1st Quarter<\/p>\n
Both teams came out with energy and pace. The Nuggets jumped to an early lead with Cam Johnson heavily involved. First was a three, then a jumper on the first of Joki\u0107\u2019s eleven first-half assists. Dallas answered as Payton Washington and Naji Marshall provided early buckets to keep it tight. Mal got cooking with the first of his 15 points in the quarter with a floater followed by a pull-up trey. Cooper Flagg gave Dallas a spark with some mid-range makes, but they called a timeout at the 7-minute mark to regroup as Denver began to pull ahead.<\/p>\n
Murray continued to hit as the quarter progressed. He hit a step-back on a Joki\u0107 feed before draining his second three to give the Nuggets a 19-18 lead. Watson and Braun got into the flow with a pair of layups. After Mal\u2019s short turnaround and free throw, Jok and THJ matched Smith and Williams\u2019 scoring for Dallas, giving the Nuggets a slim one-point lead.<\/p>\n
2nd Quarter<\/p>\n
The second quarter belonged to future All-NBA superstar Jamal Murray, who blew the doors open with yet another flurry. The subs went tit-for-tat over the first five minutes with Julian Strawther, Peyton Watson, and Spencer Jones all contributing. When Jamal checked back into the game with 7:39 left in the half, he immediately made an impact hitting a 27\u2032 pull-up three for his 18th point. Cam hit another triple, followed by a layup by Mal and a Strawther trey to continue to hold the narrow lead. With just over three minutes left, Joki\u0107 added a three of his own before Jamal Murray went off again. <\/p>\n
Pull up three. Step back three. Heat-check three. And after hitting 3-of-4 free throws, Jamal sent the Nuggets into the half up 68-59 on the back of 33 first-half points. <\/p>\n
3rd Quarter<\/p>\n
The good guys picked up where they left off with Joki\u0107 and Murray scoring on back-to-back possessions to expand the lead to 11. The Mavs hung around, though, despite the Nuggets maintaining good intensity, partially by getting away with fouls on Joki\u0107, which is becoming something of a disturbing trend. Neither team could build a run or rhythm, even, as the refs got fast and loose with the whistle. At the three-point mark, Dallas cut the lead to 93-92 after three-straight and-ones. Joki\u0107 restored order in the paint then Bruce Brown swished a corner three on a nice crosscourt find to build the lead. The run then grew to 7-0 as PWat euro-stepped into a floater. Klay Thompson answered with a turnaround, but four Joker free throws and an Uncle Bruce layup on #15\u2019s 15th assist grew the lead to 106-96.<\/p>\n
Strawther\u2019s deep, high-arching three felt like the dagger to end the period until the real MVP ripped off this pass to give the Nuggets an 18-8 run and 111-100 lead:<\/p>\n
4th Quarter<\/p>\n
To their credit, the Mavs decided to not go gently into the warm Denver night. Washington scored six in the first three minutes followed by a Middleton three and fadeaway jumper to keep the Mavs within single digits despite Jamal continuing to bucket with seven more as Joki\u0107 sat. Jamal\u2019s 45th point matched a Flagg dunk, but the ROTY candidate then hit a step-back three, cutting the Nuggets\u2019 lead to 124-116. Jamal continued to score seemingly at will, but another Flagg make and Christie made the game interesting. After Washington\u2019s tip dunk and another Christie three, the Nuggets lead had evaporated (127-126), and Coach Adelman called timeout.<\/p>\n
The remaining three minutes would be all Nuggets. CB hit a pair of free throws, then Joki\u0107 hit a jumper for his 23rd point. Watson added a three on Big Honey\u2019s 19th(!) assist. Then the Blue Arrow, who wasn\u2019t done hitting daggers, put in another pullup three followed by a step-back J to all but seal the game with 1:42 left. The Mavericks kept playing, but 3-of-4 free throws by Watson (21 points) and Bruce\u2019s sixth point of the game closed out a game the Nuggets needed to stay in the hunt for the third seed in the West. <\/p>\n
FINAL SCORE: Mavericks 135, Nuggets 142<\/p>\n
Tonight was the 400th time that Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray played in a game together and won (including playoffs).<\/p>\n
The 400 wins are the most by any duo in the NBA since they became teammates in the 2016-17 season. pic.twitter.com\/B9FsU7GOhL<\/a><\/p>\n