The Denver Nuggets improved in the long run today, but they sustained an unfortunate loss in the short term. Denver lost 127-115 to the Brooklyn Nets in a matchup where they seemed overwhelmed physically in the middle of the floor.
Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun both made their returns from injury against the Nets. Braun started while Gordon came off the bench, but both played in between 21 and 24 minutes. David Adelman shared that both would be on a minute restriction after missing several weeks.
Gordon looked good off the bench in his return with 20 points in 21 minutes, grabbing six rebounds along the way. He shot 8-of-15 from the field and made some impressive plays as a scorer. His conditioning was clearly in progress though as he tired out throughout the contest on both ends of the floor. The Nuggets were +1 in Gordon’s minutes in a game they lost by 12 points.
Aaron Gordon has not missed a beat pic.twitter.com/LbeYNHK2jn
— Matt Brooks (@MattBrooksNBA) January 4, 2026
Braun looked farther away from being an impact option, playing 24 minutes but accumulating just 3 points and 2 rebounds. Braun mostly got out of the way offensively of Jamal Murray and others, and while his only bucket was a nice transition take, he simply didn’t make much of an impact while out there.
Jamal Murray led the way for Denver with 27 points and 16 assists, setting a new career-high in dimes in a game that he worked very hard to win for Denver. The Nets doubled him relentless for the first three quarters, and while Murray struggled initially against that coverage, the assists started piling up throughout the game.
That’s a sick pass from Jamal Murray pic.twitter.com/2OAC6uwxeI
— Matt Brooks (@MattBrooksNBA) January 4, 2026
The Nuggets found ways to score against a scrambling Nets defense, particularly Gordon and Tim Hardaway Jr. who had 26 points while shooting 7-of-12 from the field, 5-of-10 from three, and 7-of-9 from the free throw line.
Peyton Watson also had a strong second half attacking the basket, finishing the game with 23 points on 8-of-14 from the field and 6-of-7 from the free throw line. Watson’s minutes were lower in the first half as the Nuggets scrambled to find solutions on both ends of the floor. Watson was initially taken off the floor to end the first half but responded well throughout the rest of the game as a scorer.
Denver’s real issues weren’t on offense though. They struggled mightily on defense trying to contain the size and shooting of the Nets. Michael Porter Jr. led the charge with 27 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists. He wasn’t perfect, but the shooting threat was palpable as the Nuggets did everything they could to deny him shots and still couldn’t stop him overall. His shooting gravity helped others get free as well with Noah Clowney scoring an efficient 22 points on 10 shots. Egor Demin and Day’Ron Sharpe played efficient basketball themselves, while Cam Thomas scored 17 points off the bench on high degree of difficulty attempts.
The Nuggets were simply a step or two slow, and whenever they generated stops, the Nets still attacked the glass and found second chance points. The Nets shot 37 free throws as the Nuggets desperately fouled to prevent shots right at the rim. That total was tied for the most free throws the Nuggets have allowed all season. Denver’s usually a low foul team, but without size in the middle of the floor to protect the rim and grab defensive rebounds, the Nuggets had no choice but to foul.
DaRon Holmes, in his second ever start, finished with just 15 minutes, 6 points, and a single rebound. Zeke Nnaji, who had a pretty strong defensive game overall, had just 4 points and 3 rebounds to go with 3 stocks off the bench. Spencer Jones had one rebound, Peyton Watson had 4, and Christian Braun had 2. The Nuggets were extremely underwhelming on the interior, and that will need to change for the Nuggets to find some wins without Nikola Jokic and Jonas Valanciunas going forward.
It was important that the Nuggets got back Gordon and Braun. That’s the first step toward getting back on track as a team; however, the Nuggets are just 1-4 on this road trip and appear to be in a spot of trouble in the short term. Will the Nuggets try and solve their size problems outside of the roster? Can Denver fix things internally? It’s a lot of pressure to apply to Denver’s entire roster, but especially Jamal Murray as he attempts to keep pace with opposing offensive attacks.
There isn’t a great answer here, which means the Nuggets probably aren’t finished taking their lumps without their primary center rotation.
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