On January 15th, Beijing time, the Mavericks lost 99-118 to the Nuggets at home, with Doncic out due to injury and Irving returning. The game lost suspense from the first quarter, with the Nuggets leading 36-21 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Nuggets won by 11 points with a score of 35-24, leading 71-45 at halftime. The entire second half became garbage time!
Jamal Murray had his strongest game of the season: playing 37 minutes, shooting 18 of 26, making 5 of 9 three-pointers, 4 of 4 free throws, scoring 45 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals. Before this game, Murray's highest score this season was only 34 points. This is the fifth time in Murray's career that he has scored over 40 points, and it is also his highest score since February 20, 2021 (50 points).
Murray only played 19 minutes in the first half, shooting 12 of 15, making 4 of 6 three-pointers, 4 of 4 free throws, and scoring 32 points with 3 assists. Seeing Murray in such good form, Jokic only attempted 2 shots in the first half, which is the ultimate selflessness. This is the third time in Murray's regular-season career that he has scored over 30 points in a half, tying Anthony and Jokic for the most in Nuggets history.
In the entire game, Jokic shot 4 of 7, made 1 of 2 three-pointers, 1 of 2 free throws, and got 10 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 steals, with a plus-minus of +23, the highest in the game. Another milestone for Jokic: 15,000 points, 7,500 rebounds, 5,000 assists in his career, achieved in just 709 games, the fastest in NBA history, breaking the previous record held by Larry Bird (799 games).
Westbrook had an off day today: shooting 3 of 11, making 1 of 3 three-pointers, 2 of 2 free throws, scoring 9 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, and 4 turnovers. However, Westbrook fought hard on defense, with a plus-minus of +22, the second-highest in the game. Irving's return was a disaster: shooting 4 of 18, scoring only 11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals, 1 block, with a plus-minus of -17, the second-lowest in the team.
Klay shot 3 of 8, scoring 8 points and 3 rebounds, with a plus-minus of -13. The Nuggets dominated the Mavericks in rebounds 51-30, leading by as many as 31 points. After this game, the Nuggets are 24-15 and ranked fourth in the West, leading the fifth-place Clippers by 2.5 games and trailing the third-place Grizzlies by 0.5 games. The Mavericks are 22-18 and have fallen to sixth in the West.
Last offseason, the Nuggets renewed Murray's contract for 4 years at $208 million. His performance this season has drawn a lot of criticism, but he finally exploded today! Finally, let's take a look at the stats and share your feelings:
