When it was announced that the Denver Nuggets would be resting almost everybody on the second night of a back-to-back against the Philadelphia 76ers, expectations dropped out from under fans.
On top of Nikola Jokic, Cam Johnson, Jonas Valanciunas, and Tamar Bates, the Nuggets decided to sit Jamal Murray and Tim Hardaway Jr. after carrying a heavy burden on this road trip. In addition, the Nuggets didn’t play Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun on the second night of a back-to-back. That’s eight total players on a 17-man roster, meaning the Nuggets had nine players available on a back-to-back.
Fortunately for the Nuggets, that’s exactly what they needed.
The Nuggets survived an incredible overtime thriller 125-124 vs the Sixers with Jalen Pickett and Peyton Watson leading the way. The game went back and forth the entire night, but the Nuggets made the clutch plays in the closing seconds. Down just one point after forcing a stop, the ball was tapped to Bruce Brown, who attacked in transition and got the ball up on the glass before Joel Embiid could block it, generating a goaltending call with 4.7 seconds to go to give the Nuggets a lead.
Bruce Brown’s bucket is ruled good on a goaltending call. Denver leads by one in overtime with 4.7 seconds remaining. pic.twitter.com/JtoVWKbR9G
— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) January 6, 2026
After that, the Nuggets scrambled defensively against Tyrese Maxey who couldn’t hit the game-winning shot, letting the Nuggets run out of Philadelphia with an incomprehensible win.
Pickett started at point guard and ran with the opportunity, scoring 29 points on 11-of-20 from the field and 7-of-11 from three. He held the ball and navigated pressure for the Nuggets, also notching 7 assists and 5 rebounds compared to 4 turnovers as the Sixers began to double team him late in the game. Pickett’s ability to generate a switch against Joel Embiid and walk him into a stepback three was extremely impressive. The confidence Pickett played with all night gave the entire team confidence.
CAREER-HIGH 22 PTS. CAREER-HIGH 6 3PM. WILD STEPBACK.
Jalen Pickett going OFF on Peacock! pic.twitter.com/bxi2cCUEgB
— NBA (@NBA) January 6, 2026
This was Pickett’s career-high in a game scoring by far, and it makes sense that it happened close to his alma mater at Penn State. It was an opportunity that Pickett didn’t let slip, and he deserved the flowers he’s currently receiving for an epic primetime performance.
While everyone contributed in a major way, which has to happen when only nine players are available, four other players deserve major props for this night: Peyton Watson, Zeke Nnaji, Bruce Brown, and Hunter Tyson.
Peyton Watson handled the basketball a ton, especially in the minutes Pickett didn’t play. He was often the de facto point guard and got downhill in pick and roll against the Sixers, finishing the game with 24 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 stocks. The growth he’s showing at handling and exploiting matchups as a scorer is notable. Like Pickett, Watson also sought out Embiid and got to his spots a couple times against the bigger center.
On the other end, Watson had to manage his energy at times but still worked hard against both Embiid and Maxey. Both are difficult assignments, and Watson slowed them down just enough as a scrambling, athletic defender. He also had an incredible block in the clutch on the perimeter.
Zeke Nnaji played perhaps the best game of his NBA career. He played 32 minutes off the bench, including the final 24 minutes of the game. The Nuggets trusted him, and he absolutely delivered with 21 points, 8 rebounds, 4 stocks, and shooting 7-of-11 from the field and 4-of-5 from three. Nnaji played with real confidence, taking contested threes, going off the dribble against his defender, and playing high level basketball on both ends of the floor. His rotational defense was impressive, and he tracked down some clutch rebounds. It was a very impressive night for Nnaji.
Zeke Nnaji creates his own offense with an aggressive drive and a nice finish at the basket. pic.twitter.com/XhspgT6G1w
— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) January 6, 2026
Bruce Brown had the aforementioned game-winning layup, but he also had a clutch three at the end of the fourth quarter and hit two important free throws. Brown finished the game with 19 efficient points to go with 6 rebounds. He was productive, effective, and battled all night.
Finally, Hunter Tyson had perhaps the most valuable game of his career with 14 extremely important points off the bench. Tyson had 7 of those points on two separate And-1’s in the fourth quarter, hitting a contested layup under the rim and then hitting a transition three through contact. Often, it would be Julian Strawther in this spot (though Strawther also had 5 assists off the bench and battled) but tonight it was Tyson. He shot efficiently, collected a blocked shot, and was another guy who simply played free and with more confidence.
Overall, it was an incredible night in Denver. As I previously wrote after the win vs Toronto on New Year’s Eve, Denver’s culture is in a great place. It has to be in order to win a game like this one. The Sixers were fully healthy and had no excuse. They let off the gas and allowed Denver to hang around for too long. When it came time to execute in the clutch, the Nuggets simply did more. They put themselves in position to take advantage, and that’s exactly what happened.
Winning games without Nikola Jokic is hard. Winning games without all five starters is even harder. The Nuggets did it anyway, and that’s cause for celebration.
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