NFL
By Jason Gulden
Welcome back, Nuggets fans. Last time we talked, the Nuggets had just beaten Miami to move to 5-2 on the season and a 2-game winning streak.
As we head into Monday night’s game, when we welcome the Chicago Bulls to Ball Arena, the Nuggets are on a 7-game winning streak with a 10-2 record overall and are hitting on all cylinders.
Nuggets Recaps
On Friday, November 7th, the Nuggets played their first home NBA Cup game of the year against Golden State. They handled their business as Jokic would have another great game with 26pts, 9assists, and 9 rebounds. Golden State was without Stephen Curry, who missed his second straight game due to illness. Denver would win the game 129-104.
The following night, on Saturday, November 8th, the Nuggets welcomed the struggling defending Eastern Conference Champs, the Indiana Pacers. This Pacers team is different than the team that represented the East in the finals. Pacers are without Tyrese Haliburton, who suffered a torn right Achilles tendon in Game 7 of the Finals this summer. Other players must step up for Indiana, and unfortunately for them this season, it hasn’t happened. Aaron Nesmith led the team in scoring for the game with 25 points. Along with him and the rest of the Pacers, it wasn’t enough as the Nuggets would win 117-100. Jokic led the way with another triple-double, 6th of the season, with 32 points, 14 rebounds 14 assists.
The Nuggets would have a couple of days off before heading to Sacramento to take on the Kings on Tuesday, November 11th. Sacramento would have 6 players in double digits, with Domantas Sabonis and Drew Eubanks leading the way with 19 points each. Jokic would once again dominate the game, scoring 35 points, 15 rebounds, and 7 assists to lead the Nuggets to a 122-108 victory.
The following night, Wednesday, November 12th, the Nuggets would travel down the Pacific coast from Sacramento to Los Angeles and the Intuit Dome, and the Wall to face off against the Clippers. The Clippers coach, Tyronn Lue, implemented a defensive plan for the game to stop Nikola Jokic. He planned to let Jokic score while taking away his passing lanes. Well, Tyronn, how well did that work out for you? Jokic would go on to score 55 points with 12 rebounds to lead the Nuggets to a 130-116 victory.
After a day off in LA on Thursday, the boys board a plane on Friday to travel up to Minnesota to take on the Timberwolves on Saturday, November 15th. Going back to the 2024 playoffs, where the Nuggets blew a 20-point lead with 10:30 left in the 3rd quarter of game 7, Minnesota had owned Denver by beating them 5 straight times before this season. Back on October 27th, the Nuggets would snap that losing streak, and with the 123-112 victory on Saturday, the Nuggets have won 2 straight against the Timberwolves. Jokic would have another triple-double with 27 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists.
Crazy stat I saw following the Los Angeles Clippers Game
Following the game, I saw this tweet. In NBA history, only one player has ever done each of these in the same season:
- 50+ point game
- 30/15/15 game
- 25+ point game without attempting a single free throw
That player is Nikola Jokic, who did each of those in the last EIGHT days.
Great Time in Denver Sports!!!!!
Denver sports fans enjoy the time you’re having right now. It’s not very often, especially in Denver, that you have multiple sports teams in the same area, just across Interstate 25 from each other, that are having a great season. As of this writing, the Denver Broncos are 9-2 and in first place. The Colorado Avalanche are 12-1-5 with 29 points and have the best record in the NHL. The Denver Nuggets are 10-2, which is 2nd place in the Western Conference, only trailing the Defending Champs, the Oklahoma City Thunder, by 2 games. Let’s hope for the city of Denver that this continues the rest of the season.
Key Injuries
The Nuggets are dealing with some injuries now. During the game in LA, the Nuggets had a tough game on the injury front. Cam Johnson would suffer a strain right bicep and missed the game against Minnesota. As of this writing, he is questionable for the game Monday night against the Bulls.
The big injury is Christian Braun. Christian would suffer a sprained left ankle and will be reevaluated in 6 weeks. Unfortunately, the Nuggets will probably be without Christian until Christmas, if not the early 2026 portion of the season.
Unlike previous years, this Nuggets team can handle a long-term injury such as Braun’s. We have a deeper bench to fill the void and not take a chunk out of the bench in terms of depth. In the Saturday night game, Tim Hardaway Jr. started for Braun. Will that be the case moving forward, or will someone else be put in the starting lineup for each game? Only time will tell.
Well, Nuggets fans, that’s a wrap of this article. I will have another Nuggets article next week. Talk to you all then. GO NUGGETS!!!!!
