Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray’s numbers were near identical tonight in a heart throbbing nail-biter against the Dallas Mavericks. If Joker would’ve taken the game-winning shot and drained it, Murray and Joker would have been equal on the stat sheet in every category, and Denver would have walked out of Dallas with a win. Unfortunately, that is not how it played out for the Nuggets.
Jamal Murray – 31 Points, 7 Rebounds, 14 Assists, 12/21 FG
Nikola Jokic – 29 Points, 7 Rebounds, 14 Assists, 12/22 FG
Both teams combined for 261 points in one of the most high-energetic games of the season. Anthony Davis and Cooper Flagg dropped 64 points between the two of them, which was enough to squeak past the Nuggets who have been on fire.
If it weren’t for the sharp shooters beyond the 3-point line, the Nuggets wouldn’t have been in the game at all. Denver shot a season high from the 3PT line and went 20/41 (48%). They only visited the free throw line 10 times and shot 100% from there.
Dallas knew not to bring Denver to the free throw line and forced them to shoot from the perimeter. Head Coach, Jason Kidd is a mastermind when dissecting a team full of top tier players such as the Nuggets. And he was able to keep his team in the game, even without key players Kyrie Irving, Dante Exum, and Dereck Lively II, who are all on IR for a considerable amount of time.
Overall, a barn burner and a great buzzer-beater win for Dallas at home, but a heart breaker for Denver.
The Nuggets will have another challenge as they face Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves on Christmas night.
Dante Robinson | Senior NBA Analyst for The NSR Network
