I’m playing his game second in a row this week Already averaging 39.2 minutes through five games of the season, Nikola Jokic finally looked set to win the fourth quarter off the bench.

While Jokic scored 18 of his 27 points in the third quarter, the Nuggets closed a single-digit first half lead and lost 129-103 to the Utah Jazz on Saturday night, sealing a five-game lead at Ball Arena. It was their first regulation win of the 2024-25 season and the first time they led after the first quarter.

Jokic contributed to his performance of 16 rebounds and 9 assists by shooting 10 of 18 shots from outside the field and played in a short time of 30 minutes. Michael Porter Jr. He had an effective performance in a row, scoring 20 points on 4-of-6 shooting from outside. Christian Braun continued to demonstrate his perfect two-way harmony in the first 11 with 17 points, 3 assists and 2 steals.

24 hours after being down 21 points from the three-point line Dramatic defeat in MinnesotaThe Nuggets (3-3) bounced back with their best perimeter offensive showing yet. They knocked down 16 of 32 attempts on 3rd; Three of those came on a 17-point debut from Julian Strawther off the bench.

Garbage time isn’t unimportant when a team’s secondary doesn’t score a basket all season. After Jokic secured a 24-point lead, the fourth quarter on Saturday saw valuable minutes accumulated for the confidence of Denver’s struggling bench players. In fact, this was their first opportunity to play trash with a leader. Peyton Watson saw the ball thrown away a few times as a rim runner. Michael Malone’s young squad was able to work on chemistry with Russell Westbrook. Hunter Tyson had a career-high seven points after debuting as the 10th man in Michael Malone’s rotation on Friday. Jokic never needed to take his shirt off.