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National Basketball Association
Denver 141, Washington 128
When: 9:00 PM ET, Wednesday, December 14, 2022
Where: Ball Arena, Denver, Colorado
Officials: #78 Evan Scott, #48 Scott Foster, #13 Ashley Moyer-Gleich
Attendance: 19550

Nikola Jokic scored a season-high 43 points and added 14 rebounds and eight assists, Bones Hyland had 23 points and the host Denver Nuggets beat the Washington Wizards 141-128 on Wednesday night.

Aaron Gordon had 22 points, Bruce Brown added 13, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope finished with 11 and Jeff Green had 10 for Denver, which scored a season high to win its third straight game.

Kyle Kuzma led Washington with 24 points, and Will Barton had 22 points and nine assists. Monte Morris added 20 points, while Corey Kispert notched 16 for the Wizards.

Barton and Morris played their first games against their former team.

Denver led by five at halftime and extended the lead with a strong start to the third quarter from Jokic. After Taj Gibson made a layup, Jokic made a couple of pullup jumpers and fed Caldwell-Pope with a long bounce pass for a layup and a 78-69 lead.

Morris hit a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to six, but Jokic scored the next seven points for the Nuggets to give them an 87-76 lead. Denver surged again and made it 96-82 on a lob dunk by Gordon.

The Wizards responded with a pair of 3-pointers that sparked a 13-4 run before heading to the fourth quarter down 102-95.

Christian Braun split a pair of free throws early in the fourth to make it 109-97, but Washington again had an answer.

Deni Avdija hit a 3-pointer, Kuzma made two free throws and Kispert drained consecutive 3-pointers to get the Wizards within 113-108 with 8:54 left. The Nuggets extended the lead to 10, Washington got within seven and had a chance to get closer but a 10-foot jumper from Jokic made it 131-120 with 3:27 left.

The Nuggets led by as many as nine in the first half, but Washington battled back. An 11-2 run -- highlighted by a four-point play from Morris -- gave the Wizards a 53-49 lead midway through the second quarter.

Denver recovered to take a 72-67 lead into halftime.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Washington   Denver
Kyle Kuzma 24 Scoring Nikola Jokic 43
Will Barton 9 Assists Nikola Jokic 8
Daniel Gafford 7 Rebounds Nikola Jokic 14
Will Barton 4 Free Throws Made Nikola Jokic 9
Deni Avdija 3 Steals Nikola Jokic 5
Daniel Gafford 2 Blocks Bruce Brown 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Washington 128 52.7 19-39 13-23 40 24 5 10 14
Denver 141 65.1 4-16 29-35 31 45 7 8 19
Upcoming Games
  • Denver will play their next game on the road against L.A. Lakers. The Nuggets have a W/L % of .588 after a win and .700 after a loss.
  • Washington will play their next game on the road against L.A. Clippers. The Wizards have a W/L % of .455 after a win and .333 after a loss.