On the night Phil Chenier had his number 45 retired, the Nuggets made 17 3-pointers to take down the Wizards, 108-100.
Bradley Beal led Washington with 24 points, making six of the team’s 14 triples. Markieff Morris added 17 points, while Kelly Oubre Jr. had 15 off the bench. Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic each scored 25 points for the Nuggets to lead them to victory.
The Wizards struggled to take care of the ball, turning it over 17 times for 19 Nuggets points. Washington was able to Denver in check in the paint, holding them to 17-of-42 for only 34 points in the paint. Still, the Nuggets made 17-of-34 from behind the arc to win.
The Nuggets controlled the game in the first half, feeding off the Wizards’ turnovers. They would lead 55-43 at the half, with Murray scoring 20 of his points. The Wizards struggled to close in on Murray’s four 3-pointers and contain his playmaking. Jokic struggled in the first half with 4-of-12 shooting, but would make 7-of-9 field goals in the second half.
Led by seven 3-pointers and Morris’ 11 and Beal’s 9 in the third quarter, the Wizards would retake the lead near the end of the quarter. Down 14 points, the Wizards were able to make big plays and get back into the game during the third. Washington made 12-of-19 (63.2%) field goals and outscored Denver 33-23 in the third, but the Nuggets still led by two heading into the fourth quarter.
The teams went back-and-forth in the fourth quarter, with the Wizards taking the lead back 93-92 on an Otto Porter Jr. running layup with 4:21 remaining. The Nuggets would respond, however, as Murray made a huge 3-pointer, his first basket of the second half. Denver would go on a 16-7 run to close the game after that triple, though the Wizards had opportunities late to get back into the game.
“We kept playing from behind,” Washington head coach Scott Brooks said after the game. “[We were] down 14 and we make a comeback, and then they go ahead again and we battled back. That’s the bright side, but the bottom line is that they made bigger plays than us and we turned the ball over 17 times and we got our shot blocked [eight] times. It’s hard to score when that happens. We just have to play better. We have to play with more spirit [and] we have to take some pride in our home court. Give them credit, they’re playing for their playoff life and they came out and got a big win on the road.”
The loss keeps the Wizards in the No. 6 spot in the East. Next up, the Wizards host the Knicks on Sunday night at 6:00pm as the 1978 champion Bullets are honored.