The Denver Nuggets needed a bounce back win at home vs the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night. They managed to get it, though not without a couple close calls.
Michael Porter Jr. made his return to Denver tonight, scoring an impressive 38 points on high volume scoring to keep the Nets in the game throughout the night. The next highest Brooklyn scorer had just 12 points though, and when the Nuggets made Porter’s shots exceedingly tough, there weren’t enough helpful Nets to share the scoring burden with the star forward.
The Nuggets held on in the clutch, in large part due to Jamal Murray. His 27 points and six assists were relatively quiet throughout the game, but Murray made some important plays down the stretch to create buckets for himself and his teammates. He also shot 7-of-7 from the free throw line, a good bounce back from Tuesday’s loss vs Detroit in which he missed some clutch ones.
Jamal Murray with a pair of CLUTCH buckets down the stretch
Denver up 4 with 2.6 to play! pic.twitter.com/Mv3S9JDgHj
— NBA (@NBA) January 30, 2026
Murray set the table for both Jonas Valanciunas and Peyton Watson down the stretch. Valanciunas made a clutch And-1 off a Murray dime and also made two big free throws of his own. Watson did a nice job slashing throughout the night, balancing perimeter scoring with attacking the basket and getting to the free throw line. He finished with 19 points and continues to find ways to grow, though there were also some mistakes too.
The big reason why Denver won this game was the scoring off the bench though. Denver racked up 48 bench points, including an impressive 25 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists from Tim Hardaway Jr. who had 19 points in the first half alone. The Nuggets built a lead in large part due to Hardaway’s hot shooting, but don’t sleep on the impressive contributions from Bruce Brown, who had a very efficient 12 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists of his own.
Tim Hardaway Jr. from DEEP
He’s got a game-high 19 PTS as the Nuggets hold the lead in Q2! pic.twitter.com/oLRMt3CxVI
— NBA (@NBA) January 30, 2026
It wasn’t a perfect night by any stretch of the word. The Nuggets let go of a 15+ point lead at halftime and allowed the Nets to retake the lead for a bit. Denver had to re-establish themselves, and it took longer than expected in the second half to find the rhythm again. Fortunately for Denver, just 6 turnovers helped their cause. They avoided making many mistakes, shot 13-of-26 from three (a surprisingly low volume but highly efficient), and found a way to dig out a game in the clutch.
Denver of course had the advantage going into it. Despite the fact that the Nuggets were missing four starters, Brooklyn rested several of their players with token injuries. That did Denver a favor because outside of Porter, the Nets were pedestrian as scorers. They relied heavily upon Porter, Nic Claxton, and rookie Danny Wolf to make important plays, but there just weren’t enough performances outside of their main guys to get over the top of Denver.
With the news from earlier today that Aaron Gordon is going to miss an additional 4 to 6 weeks or more, it’s important that Denver continues to find some stability wherever they can. This was a game they definitely could’ve dropped, so because they got a win, they deserve credit for holding serve with a team they’ve struggled against in the past.
Michael Porter Jr. receives a warm welcome in his return to Denver pic.twitter.com/L6ubgODcvg
— NBA (@NBA) January 30, 2026
Now, there’s no rest for the wicked Nuggets. The Los Angeles Clippers are coming to town for a game tomorrow night, and they’re on two days of rest after a close win in Utah on Tuesday. Denver will be hard-pressed to win that one, but if they do, that’d be shocking.
For now, it’s good for Denver to enjoy this win against a former teammate. Both teams and players are having success in what they’re trying to do, so perhaps this can help Nuggets fans get over the Michael Porter trade if they’re still hanging on for dear life.
Denver Nuggets survive Michael Porter Jr.’s return in win vs Brooklyn Nets Mile High Sports.
Hence then, the article about denver nuggets survive michael porter jr s return in win vs brooklyn nets was published today ( ) and is available on Mile High Sports ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Denver Nuggets survive Michael Porter Jr.’s return in win vs Brooklyn Nets )
Also on site :