Again and again, suspense with the Nuggets, and once again, Nikola Jokic's teammates come down to the wire! This time, it's Michael Porter Jr who takes over from Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic to score the “game winner” six seconds from the end against the Mavericks (122-120).
Once again, the Mavericks got off to a slow start, quickly trailing 11-3 in the opening minutes of the game. Baskets from Klay Thompson and Daniel Gafford allow Dallas to stay in contact, but the Nuggets attack unfolds. Denver's lead reaches up to ten points with an efficient Michael Porter Jr. Thanks to good passages from Jaden Hardy and Naji Marshall, Dallas limits the damage (35-29).
Irving untenable
In the wake of a Luka Doncic passer, the Mavericks continue, and Gafford is untenable under the panels. Dallas has gone ahead, and Kyrie Irving begins his show. At the break, the Mavericks are in front (63-60), and once again, the Nuggets defense has cracked. But that of the Mavericks is frankly not better, and the 3rd quarter looks like “hooray basketball”. Obviously, in this unbridled game, Irving had a blast, and he scored eight baskets in a row! As soon as he rests, the Mavericks are struggling, but Klay Thompson takes care of maintaining the suspense (97-94).
Irving, again, gives the Mavericks the advantage (102-100) but a bad passage from the replacements is costly. The Nuggets have a run with Jokic hitting from afar to give them a five-point lead (113-108) with five minutes to go. The Doncic-Irving tandem responds to take back control (120-118), but the Slovenian is too greedy. Rather than going for a 2-point or a foul, he takes a 3-point to kill the match. He misses it.
Behind, Jokic recovers his own miss to equalize, and it is finally Porter Jr, with a “floater”, who defeats the Mavericks six seconds from the siren. Behind, Irving misses his 3-pointer at the buzzer, and the Nuggets sign a 7th victory in 10 matches.
What to remember
– Jokic again and again. With 37 points, 18 rebounds and 15 assists, Nikola Jokic signs his 4th triple-double in a row, and the 6th of his season! The Serbian is in the Top 5 in the NBA in points, rebounds and assists!
– Peyton Watson still decisive. As against the Thunder, the young Nuggets winger is “clutch” in the final seconds, and after countering Shai Gilgeous-Alexander this week, he adds Kyrie Irving to his team. Better still, he scores a superb 4 out of 4 from 3-point range.
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How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
