The Nuggets have won 5 consecutive games! Jokic scored 35+15, and Westbrook made 3 of 12. In this battle, I have to admit 3 facts.

Edit|Old Kankanqiu

On November 12, the NBA 2025-26 season ushered in the focus of the Western Conference. The Sacramento Kings sat at home and faced the Denver Nuggets. What's disappointing is that the Kings management's recruitment strategy may have been a fool's errand. The Bulls have proven that the combination of DeRozan and LaVine is not going to work, but they insist on bringing it in. Now the team only has a record of 3 wins and 7 losses, suffered 2 consecutive losses, and ranked 11th in the Western Conference. The threshold for the playoffs is probably out of reach. Therefore, according to the latest report from Evan Sidery, the Kings management began to evaluate the trade value of Savoy, LaVine, DeRozan and others, and tried to trade to start reconstruction. It is really laughable!

For comparison, after the Nuggets introduced Davaran, Johnson, Bruce Brown and other reinforcements this season, the team's substitute lineup has finally been enriched. Currently, with a record of 7 wins and 2 losses, they have won 4 consecutive victories and ranked third in the Western Conference. The former championship team is back. Before the game, the US media ESPN predicted this game. The Nuggets have an absolute advantage with a winning rate of 72.8%, while the Kings have a winning rate of only 27.2%.

In terms of the starting lineup for this game, for the Kings, the latest starting five arranged by the coach are: Dennis Schroder, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Achiuwa, and Domantas Sabonis; for the Nuggets, the starting lineup is: Jamal Murray, Christian Braun, Cameron Johnson, Aaron Gordon, Nikola Jokic.

At the beginning of the first quarter, Sabonis succeeded in a jump shot near the free throw line, giving the Kings a good start. Jokic also made a mid-range shot from the same position and immediately returned the favor. Gordon turned over in front of Schroeder and hit the board in the mid-range. The Nuggets led the Kings 15-8 at the beginning. Sabonis sent a wonderful behind-the-back pass, assisted DeRozan and easily hit the board. Murray missed a three-pointer. Gordon ambush the three people under the basket and stepped up to complete a two-handed tip-in. The scores of the two teams increased alternately. Westbrook came off the bench and drove to the basket to attract a double-team and scored Sabonis with a throw. The latter had already scored 11 points. In the next round, Westbrook suddenly changed direction with the ball, passed his opponent in one step, and made a steady layup to score the first point. Watson defended DeRozan and sent out a sky-blocking block. Eubanks took advantage of the chaos to catch the ball and complete a two-handed dunk. At the end of the first quarter, the Kings led the Nuggets by 1 point 34-33.

In the first quarter, Jokic made all 6 shots and scored 12 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.

Back in the second quarter, Gordon ignored the defense and hit a pull-up jumper from beyond the three-point line, and the Nuggets took the lead. After Westbrook got the defensive rebound, he held the ball in full gear and accelerated directly to the basket, attracting four people to help defend and send a second pass to assist DeRozan for an easy layup. The Kings regained the lead. Johnson passed DeRozan and went straight to the basket. Westbrook established his position in advance and caused another offensive foul by the opponent. After Gordon stole Westbrook's pass, he quickly caught the ball and dunked it with both hands. LaVine's subsequent pass was intercepted by Jokic, and the Kings had no choice but to stop the game. After the timeout, Eubanks took a pass from LaVine and completed a one-handed dunk again. Jokic succeeded in consecutive throws. After halftime, the Nuggets led the Kings by 4 points 60-56.

Halftime data, for the Nuggets, Jokic made 9 of 10 shots, 1 of 2 free throws and scored 19 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals; Aaron Gordon made 4 of 6 shots, 1 of 2 three-pointers, 3 of 5 free throws and contributed 12 points and 2 rebounds; Murray made 3 of 6 shots, 2 of 4 three-pointers, scored 8 points, 1 rebound and 5 assists.

For the Kings, Westbrook made 2 of 9 shots, 0 of 5 three-pointers and scored 4 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists; Sabonis made 6 of 9 shots, 1 of 2 free throws and scored 13 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist; Monk made 4 of 8 shots and scored 10 points and 1 assist.

Change sides to fight again. Murray dribbled behind his back and stopped to shake off the defense. He made a silky mid-range hit. Jokic opened his long arms and successfully intercepted Monk for a layup. After protecting the rebound, he sent a full-court assist. Johnson received the ball in the frontcourt and completed a dunk on the basket. The Nuggets led to 6 points to stop the Kings. Jokic continued to fake Eubanks for a layup and scored again. Westbrook tried again from outside the three-point line and hit the first three-pointer of the game. After three quarters, the Kings trailed the Nuggets by 3 points 82-85.

In the decisive battle in the fourth quarter, Murray broke through continuously and went to the free throw line, and then hit a three-pointer. The Nuggets went on a 19-5 climax and led to 15 points. Watson flew to defend Westbrook's three-pointer and was fouled. He received his 6th foul. Monk made another solid hit from the mid-range after falling back. The Kings chased to 9 points with 3 minutes left. In the end, the Nuggets narrowly defeated the Kings 122-108 and won five consecutive games.

Full game statistics, for the Nuggets, Jokic made 16 of 19 shots and scored 35 points, 15 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals; Aaron Gordon contributed 17 points and 7 rebounds; Murray scored 23 points, 3 rebounds and 8 assists; Johnson only scored 5 points and 2 rebounds on 2 of 6 shots.

For the Kings, Westbrook made 3 of 12 shots, 1 of 7 three-pointers and scored 14 points, 8 rebounds and 11 assists; Sabonis scored 19 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists.

In this battle, I have to admit three facts! First, Westbrook really loves basketball. He has transformed from a star player to a 3D blue-collar worker. No one knows what he has gone through in his heart. Although the outside world is not optimistic about him, his improvement in three-pointers every season is obvious to all and deserves respect; second, Jokic's efficiency is still terrible, and his influence on the game is still the first in the league. It must be said that the Nuggets really rely too much on Jokic; third, have the Nuggets really made money from the transaction of Johnson and Porter Jr.? From the current point of view, Porter's performance has completely crushed Johnson, and the only thing the Nuggets have earned is a lower salary.