Sound the alarm, check the dashboard for the flashing lights, pull out the instruction manual, and find the reset button. The Nuggets escaped Utah with a 128-125 win over the tanking Jazz in a game that was in question right down to the final second. It was ugly, but a win is a win. However, there seems to be something wrong with the Nuggets, and they've got 20 games left to figure it out.
The Nuggets are not playing their best basketball. And they were without Cam Johnson and Spencer Jones, moving Jonas Valanciunas to the starting lineup with Nikola Jokic for the first time this season. But even with the smaller lineup off the bench, they should still handily beat a team that is tanking and playing for a high-lottery pick.
The Jazz even looked like they got a memo to stop trying once the Nuggets got a one-point lead, failing to foul for over eight seconds before putting the Joker on the line to extend the lead to three with six seconds left in the game.
That the Nuggets almost lost to a team that has had some questionable late-game antics this year is a bit disheartening and shows there is more to fix before the playoffs arrive.
The Nuggets nearly gave away a game they had to win
It was nearly a let-down game. It felt like a let-down game. This was one the fans had circled on the calendar as a layup, a great opportunity to get an easy dub on the board before the final gauntlet-style run that awaits.
Instead, the Nuggets just about lost another clutch game. Another game in which they watched another lead that got as high as nine, evaporate in the fourth quarter. It's a pattern that has been haunting them.
The win moves the Nuggets to 2-6 in clutch games since Jokic returned to the lineup. But both of those wins are against teams racing to the bottom, the Grizzlies, and now the Jazz. All six losses came against top-tier teams or a team fighting for a playoff spot. Not exactly an inspiring stat.
Jamal Murray balled out, bailed out the Nuggets
There was one big bright spot in the ugly win. Jamal Murray's 45 points carried the Nuggets throughout, and he hit big shots along the way. It was the clutch Murray we remember.
He was lights out, like he tends to be in his big games, hitting eight threes and connecting on 68% of his shots. The only downside to his night was the seven turnovers he had.
And the Joker looked better, but the view of him with an ice bag on his right wrist getting worked on like a boxer during a timeout wasn't exactly comforting. But it seems to have worked. Jokic shot 54% and went 10-11 from the free-throw line, both improvements over prior games and closer to what we expect.