Denver Nuggets: We See This Every Night

DENVER , CO - FEBRUARY 26: Nikola Jokic (15) of the Denver Nuggets jacks over Steven Adams (12) of the Oklahoma City Thunder during the third quarter on Tuesday, February 26, 2019. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
DENVER , CO - FEBRUARY 26: Nikola Jokic (15) of the Denver Nuggets jacks over Steven Adams (12) of the Oklahoma City Thunder during the third quarter on Tuesday, February 26, 2019. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Denver Nuggets cruised to an easy victory Tuesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder 121-112. Nikola Jokic posted a near-Triple-Double with 36 points 9 rebounds and 10 assists, and you could tell the player’s only TNT broadcast wasn’t familiar with how good this team is.

The Denver Nuggets looked like the formidable second seed in the Western Conference as they dealt with the impressive two-headed monster of Russell Westbrook and Paul George. The Nuggets defense contested every look Westbrook and George saw and combined they shot 15 of 38 from the field.

Jokic looked back to his pre-All-Star break self scoring 36 points on 11 of 25 shooting and dishing 10 assists.

Jamal Murray had a quiet 20 points on 8 of 15 shooting including 4 of 7 from 3-point range. Will Barton also shined in his tough role of guarding Paul George down the stretch as well as scoring 23 points on 9 of 16 shooting.

With this win the Nuggets secure the regular season series against the Thunder, and increase their lead as the second seed in the west.

The Nuggets made the Thunder shoot tough contested threes the whole game holding the Thunder to shooting 26.3 percent from behind the arc. On the other end of the floor the Nuggets were efficient and effective from behind the arc shooting 46.3 percent.

Paul Millsap played well down the stretch and early into the fourth quarter keeping the Nuggets afloat with good offensive effort resulting in offensive rebounds, putbacks and foul calls to stem the bleeding of the Thunder’s early fourth quarter run. Millsap finished the night with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

https://twitter.com/nuggets/status/1100637112162955264

All of these stats seem like just another regular season Nuggets win for the Denver faithful, but for the outside looking in this team seems like a flash in the pan for when the playoffs come instead of being respected like this team should going in to a best-of-seven series.

Next. Is Paul Millsap the Nuggets X-Factor?. dark

The Nuggets continue their current three game homestand Thursday against the streaky Utah Jazz at the Pepsi Center.