Nikola Jokic needed just one quarter and a whole lot of passing to remind everyone, including the Philadelphia 76ers, why he’s a three-time MVP.
The Denver Nuggets’ superstar dished out eight assists in the opening period Tuesday night at Ball Arena, setting the tone for a runaway victory over a depleted 76ers squad. Denver won 124-96 on the back of two massive quarters.
Jokic finished the first quarter with 2 points and 8 assists as Denver raced to a 38-22 advantage. For the fourth time since the start of the 2020-21 season, Jokic recorded at least eight assists in a first quarter — the most of any NBA player in that span. It’s the ninth time he’s reached that mark in any quarter, and the Nuggets improved to 7-2 in those contests.
The passing wizardry came to an abrupt halt when Jokic picked up an offensive foul and was then assessed a technical foul at the 2:28 mark of the first quarter. He went to the bench with two personals and played sparingly in the second period. He finished with eight points, seven rebounds and 14 assists in just 25 minutes.
No matter. Denver’s depth took over, as it normally does when Jokic has a low-scoring night. He hadn’t been in single digits in the past 191 Nuggets games, but since 2020-21, the Nuggets are now 8-2 when he scores nine points or fewer.
Christian Braun and Cameron Johnson combined for 40 points, leading a balanced attack that saw all nine Nuggets who played in the first half score. Aaron Gordon added 12 points and five rebounds, while Jamal Murray contributed 12 points, six rebounds and four assists.
“I don’t want to speak for Cam, but I feel like he is thinking less and just playing,” David Adelman said. “‘If I’m open, shoot it.’ If I’m not driving somebody steps up. Sometimes that sounds really simplistic, but that’s the best way to play sports, when you have your mind clear, good things happen.”
The Nuggets’ first-quarter explosion — outscoring Philadelphia by 16 — marked the 11th time this season Denver has won a quarter by that margin. They improved to 9-1 in those games. Then they did it again in the second, winning the frame 34-18 to push the lead to 32 points. That marked the 12th such quarter this season and the first time in the regular season Denver has accomplished the feat twice in one game since March 9, 2024, against Utah — also in consecutive quarters.
The Nuggets have had four of those quarters in the past week. Seven of those games occurred before Jokic went down with a knee injury in December, which began Denver’s run of malaise.
The Nuggets shot 57% from the field and 53% from three in the first half and Denver dominated the glass, out-rebounding the 76ers 32-18.
Philadelphia was without Joel Embiid (right oblique strain)—who hasn’t played in Denver since 2019—Tyrese Maxey (right finger tendon strain), Paul George (suspension), Kelly Oubre Jr. (left elbow sprain) and Lonnie Walker (illness). VJ Edgecombe, Quentin Grimes and Justin Edwards were each held under a dozen points as the shorthanded visitors struggled.
Between Johnson and Braun playing well, the lopsided margin and the dominant first half, it’s another sign that the Nuggets are getting right just as the basketball gets most important. The question is now, will they have another quick setback as has been the story lately.
“I wasn’t saying this just to say something positive the media,” Adelman said. “We played well last week, flat out did, and we played the number one seed in our conference, in the whole NBA, and the Lakers are playing at a really high level, and took them both to the end.
Beat a Houston Rockets Team very soundly. And then San Antonio, which is a really hard place to win, no matter what the circumstances on a back to back, so I this felt like just a connection to what that was last week. The goal is to continue that tomorrow.”
What’s next for the Nuggets?
Denver has their third of four instances of a back-to-back within 24 hours over a four-week period on Wednesday, when they travel east to face Memphis. Though this one is a makeup contest from when the team was stranded in an ice storm in Tennessee . The Nuggets are quickly back home for the weekend, hosting the Raptors on Friday.
