Nuggets move past Grizzlies into second place in West with ninth consecutive win

Bennett Durando, The Denver Post on Feb 20, 2025

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DENVER — The Nuggets’ win streak survived the threat of an All-Star break hangover. Its next obstacle is Luka Doncic in purple and yellow.

Jamal Murray scored 34 points, and Denver held off the Hornets on Thursday night at Ball Arena, 129-115, in the team’s return from the league-wide break. Nikola Jokic added 29 points, 17 rebounds and nine assists — falling short of his 26th triple-double of the season.

The Nuggets (37-19) have won nine consecutive games, matching their best streak from the 2022-23 championship season. By coupling their win with a Memphis loss, they also moved into second place in the Western Conference for the first time this season.

Doncic and the fifth-place Lakers will visit town Saturday, giving Denver its first look at the Slovenian superstar in his new digs.

Charlotte (14-40) did an admirable job hanging around 24 hours after knocking off the Lakers in a rescheduled game in Los Angeles, where wildfires canceled the initially slated Jan. 9 matchup. Not only were the Hornets stuck participating in the NBA’s only game on Wednesday night, but they also lost an hour on their ensuing late-night flight to Colorado, parlaying their shortened All-Star break into a dreaded west-to-east back-to-back.

“They’ve almost tried to outlaw that,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “Everybody for years, long before I even got to Denver, the toughest back-to-back in the business was going from the west coast to Denver. You’re gonna get in late. It’s a long drive from the airport. You’re dealing with the altitude. All those things go into it.”

Miles Bridges gave his team a spark, scoring 18 of his 36 points in the last nine minutes of the third quarter as the Hornets briefly knotted the score at 92. Denver’s lead was still only 99-96 as the fourth began, but Julian Strawther and Russell Westbrook hit consecutive 3s while Jokic was on the bench — providing critical insurance on a night when Jokic broke a career high with 14 shot attempts outside the arc.

Charlotte started the game in drop coverage, inviting him to keep firing until he got into a rhythm. He was eventually able to overcome a 1-for-5 start for six made 3s.

Murray tacked on a 7-for-10 clip from the 3-point line, bringing his season efficiency up to 38.6%. Strawther added 16 points, four rebounds and two assists off the bench. It was the third game this season Denver has taken 40 or more 3s.

Westbrook returned from a hamstring injury after missing the last seven games going into the break, also returning to his usual role as the Nuggets’ sixth man. Malone chose to keep Christian Braun in the starting lineup after he averaged 19.9 points and 8.1 rebounds during Westbrook’s absence.

In essence, nothing ended up changing about Denver’s starting lineup despite Malone briefly opting to bring Braun off the bench in January before Westbrook suffered his injury.

“It’s never just Player A vs. Player B vs. Player C,” Malone said before opening tip. “At least for me, it’s always about the team, the collective. How does this help us? We? And then you base those decisions based on those answers. And whatever decision we make for tonight, doesn’t mean it’s going to be for the rest of the season. We have 27 games remaining, very tough schedule, and we’ll have to navigate that. I’m sure make changes along the way, like we have up to this point.

“(I’m) also making sure I’m getting guys on the court that play well together. It’s not just gut feel, the eye test, but it’s also some of the numbers behind it. ‘Well, this guy plays really well with him; maybe not as well with that guy.’ So you try to make sure you’re putting the right pieces out there together, so they can have as much success as possible.”