In the words of David Adelman, the Nuggets’ performance on Sunday in Brooklyn was embarrassing. The team came out flat with no energy and a lackluster effort, and they got punked by the Nets. It was doubly frustrating because the team had another game on Monday night in Philadelphia without arguably their top seven players.
With Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun, Cam Johnson, Jonas Valanciunas, and Tim Hardaway Jr. all out of the lineup, on the second night of a road back-to-back, against a solid, hot, and healthy Sixers team, this felt like a schedule loss for Denver.
But instead, the team bounced back from their worst showing of the season with their best, beating the 76ers in overtime, 125-124. Jalen Pickett led the way with 29 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists, including shooting 7-11 from three-point range. Peyton Watson added 24, 7, and 4, and Bruce Brown chipped in 19 and 6.
Beyond that, it was a total team effort with contributions from all nine players who were available to suit up. Spencer Jones and Curtis Jones, both on two-way deals, got involved in the fray. Long forgotten and dismissed, Zeke Nnaji and Hunter Tyson both played as well as they have in ages - maybe ever - off the bench. DaRon Holmes and Julian Strawther both held their own out there as well in the face of some tough matchups.
Nuggets’ resilience inspirational to watch
On a night when nobody gave the Nuggets a chance, they believed in themselves and played inspired basketball. A lot of this just comes down to mindset. These are proud, NBA players, many of whom are getting their only real opportunity to play (at least in this role) and prove they belong in the league.
On the other side of the court, you’ve got the Sixers, who are human beings and not blind to the Denver injury report. Surely, they had a bit of a letdown going into this nationally televised game, knowing that the Nuggets would be without their entire starting lineup and two key bench players.
For all intents and purposes, one team approached this game like Game 7 of the Finals, while the other was going through the motions like a preseason game. By the time Philly could adapt, the Nuggets had already sunk their teeth in and built a belief through their energy.
It was amazing to watch, and a truly great moment for this team and for all of these players, especially the young guys and fringe rotation guys. They showed heart and passion that can’t be taken for granted. Hopefully, this will mark an energy shift and motivate the team to keep this going and approach each game with this mentality.