They got it done.
The Denver Nuggets took down the Charlotte Hornets, 102-95, on Saturday night. Though the team looked sluggish in the first half, they used a 22-4 run in the third quarter to cruise across the finish line.
"I just told our guys how proud I was of them because they didn't feel sorry for themselves. They weren't pissed that I challenged them. They owned it, they went out there, and I think we got 17 straight stops," said head coach Michael Malone. "That was my last message to our group: when we play at that level, who can beat us?"
Denver played in Brooklyn the night before, making this their seventh back-to-back, which leads the NBA. Not only that, but this was also the Nuggets' third game in four days.
As if this stretch wasn't tough enough already, all the games occurred on the road. 17 of Denver's 31 total games have occurred away from Ball Arena, which is tied with the Washington Wizards for the most road games in the NBA. Denver is now 10-8 on the road and 21-10 overall.
"Not everybody gets through that," said Malone about Denver's tough schedule. "Luckily, we have a team that's won a championship and has a lot of talent and character and camaraderie in that locker room."
Jamal Murray had an excellent showing and grabbed 12 rebounds, which tied a career-high. He also put up 20 points to go with 5 assists.
"I thought Jamal's energy, once again, was great," said Malone.
Michael Porter Jr. led Denver in scoring with 22 points on 8-of-14 from the field and 5-of-8 from three-point land.
Denver's tired legs were immediately apparent after playing the night before. The Hornets got off to a 14-6 start thanks to some lackadaisical Denver defense. However, the Nuggets closed the quarter on a 21-9 run, as Nikola Jokić accounted for 68.2 percent of Denver's points. Charlotte finished ahead, 27-25, after one.
P.J. Washington came alive and scored 13 points off the bench in the second quarter. This allowed Charlotte to go on a 12-4 run and enter halftime with a 60-54 lead.
Charlotte had a remarkably poor third quarter: 2-for-22 from the field, 0-for-5 from deep, and 5 turnovers to 0 assists. Unsurprisingly, this allowed Denver to go on a 22-4 run and build a 15-point cushion, up 84-69 after three quarters of play.
Rookie Nick Smith Jr. gave the Nuggets a scare and came alive in the fourth quarter on 5 three-pointers. This whittled Denver's lead down to 3 points with just over three minutes remaining in the game. Jokić hit a big layup and drilled two free-throws to secure the win.