Two rookies lead the Jokic-less Nuggets to a big win over the Warriors

There are defining moments in epic championship seasons. A significant chapter in the Nuggets book of “Fragility and Domination” was written on Sunday night. Against all hope and logic, the Nuggets bravely held on to defeat the defending world champion Warriors by a 112-110 count at Ball Arena.

Heroes and villains are common in every grand story and fairytale. There was no shortage of both in front of a delirious packed house. What was surprising is who appeared as the new paladins.

Nikola Jokic missed his third game in a row with a calf injury. Finding out how to win without your leading man is always a challenge.

Aaron Gordon played like a steel hammer down low, taking meaningful minutes at the five.

Michael Porter Jr. was back to his reliable shooting self, dropping 29 points including four threes.

After a slow start, Jamal Murray came alive. Besides making back-to-back threes in the fourth quarter, his defense reigned supreme.

A controversial jump ball was called after Bruce Brown was mugged at center court with 13 seconds to go. The Warriors won the tip. Klay Thompson had an open look to win the game. Twice!

The first shot came up just a bit off. When the ball found Thompson’s hands at the same exact spot off the rebound, there was no doubt the Nuggets were about to lose the game. But Murray soared in the air, barely getting a fingertip on Thompson’s shot. By the slimmest of margins and a brilliant clutch play, the Nuggets survived.

These are the knights of the roundtable we have come to depend on. However, in order to dethrone their nemesis from the Bay, they needed special assistance from their dedicated squires.

The boldness of youth often knows no bounds when it comes to the audacity of courage. As Nuggets head coach Michael Malone gathered his troops with less than a minute to play, he stared into the eyes of two rookies who had earned the right to represent their team and our city against the best of the best.

“I caught myself smiling late in the fourth quarter when I saw who we had out on the court,” said Malone with a twinkle in his eye. “We had Christian (Braun) and Peyton (Watson) out there against guys who have won multiple championships. What a great experience. Peyton was (our) defensive player of the game.”

Malone recognized what the true value of the night meant to players who may prove pivotal in the playoffs.

“That’s a big win for us,” the coach added. “We had some young guys (on the floor). You can’t talk about those situations. You have to be in them to learn and grow. Our guys definitely benefitted from it.”

Malone heaped praise on the defensive effort of the team. After a tricky first quarter, where the Nuggets were trying out a different style of defense, the team settled in for what proved to be a momentous effort.

“They play a ton of small ball,” said Malone of Golden State. “We were switching everything on the ball and off the ball. You saw Peyton’s length and athleticism on full display. Three blocks, could’ve been four maybe. It was great to see him go out there and take full advantage of the opportunity.”

Braun and Watson put on a show. Both had huge, blow-the-roof-off-the-joint dunks and blocks. Both brought unbridled energy that only comes when a player fully embraces a defining moment of greatness. On a night where the obvious question was who would step up for Jokic, the answer was found him the form of obsequious teammates who rose to center stage.

“I come to play every night,” said Watson who was appearing in his first real meaningful minutes as a Nugget on the home court. “I’ve been working all season for this and it’s good to see all that work pay off. I look forward to doing it again.”

Watson has split most of the season between Denver and the Nuggets G League team in Grand Rapids, where he has quickly become a folk hero.

“Absolutely,” said Watson when asked if the locals in the GR would be excited for him. “Grand Rapids is my city, man. It’s where we built the foundation for this whole year. I was able to go down there and make mistakes and just play my game. It’s meant everything for me. I love my Grand Rapids people.”

What was most impressive was how prepared Watson was for such a big moment.

“Yea, it was definitely a different point of view,” laughed the rookie out of UCLA in regards to actually being on the court with a minute to go. “But I was ready, man. I was locked in and wasn’t thinking about anything else except winning the game.”

Watson and Braun bring an element of excitement and possibility that Nuggets fans just haven’t really considered. It seems incredibly unlikely that such an important cog to this potential championship engine would reveal itself so deep into the season.

Yet, here we are.

The Nuggets magic number to clinch the Western Conference stands at one. While Malone downplayed the importance of finishing first, it’s obvious that securing that somewhat meaningless title while playing well with explosive bangers like Watson and Braun could shake the NBA landscape to its core.

While the pedantic dialogue surrounding Jokic and the MVP becomes more morose by the day, we have something unexpected to lighten the load. Two youngsters who don’t know enough to expect anything less than winning, may fortify the fear trodden fan base.

Tally ho!

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