The NBA did the Nuggets no favors on Saturday, scheduling a road/home back-to-back after a tough NBA Cup game against a bruising Rockets team. Adding insult to scheduling, the Nuggets dragged themselves into the game still missing Christian Braun and now Aaron Gordon, who re-aggravated a hamstring pull a few minutes into the previous night’s game. Former Nuggets’ role player and flamboyant dresser, Russell Westbrook, got the start, as did Spencer Jones and Peyton Watson.
Nov 22, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Russell Westbrook (18) handles the ball against Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray (27) during the first half at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images
Unsurprisingly, the Nuggets came out sluggish after a late flight home from Houston. Cam opened the scoring with a corner trey, but early turnovers led to the Kings building a quick 8-3 lead. CJ buried his second three followed by Jok finding a cutting Watson to tie the game at 8. After a clever swim move by Jokic sent the Kings’ center, Drew Eubanks, to the bench with two fouls, Big Honey found Watson for an open corner three, then Murray hit a triple. A second Watson trey at the halfway mark of the first gave the Nuggets a 19-16 lead on 5/7 from distance.
Sacramento refused to let the Nuggets blow the game open, though. A LaVine three, layup, and a bad Nuggets’ turnover leading to a transition layup, gave the Kings a 23-22 lead. Watson stopped the bleeding with his third from distance (11 points in the first), and Cam added a free throw on a take foul to continue the lead swapping. The quarter closed with a Murray splash from the corner, a Jok hook in the lane, and two Brown FTs on a dime from Nikola, giving the Nuggets a 35-30 lead.
Nov 22, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) drives to the basket against Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray (13) and forward Drew Eubanks (19) during the first half at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images
The Kings’ reserves refused to give up more ground to start the second quarter. Jonas and Monk swapped twos, but after a Murray and-one and THJ three, the Nuggets built a 43-37 lead. Some sloppy play led to a couple easy buckets for the Kings before Cam converted in transition. Big Val followed up a LaVine miss to get the lead briefly back to six. Two trips to line for Keegan Murray netted the Royals three, and a Raynaud layup cut the Nuggets’ lead to two. Johnson, continuing his aggressive play, was fouled driving to cup and converted the three-point play. A steal then led to a Val jumper and a 54-47 lead.
Jokic returned to the game after an 8-minute rest, but aired a fade-away then had the ball stripped, leading to a transition dunk for LaVine. Jok countered with a quick reverse and dunk of his own to reestablish a 7-point lead. Two LaVine free throws and a Brown turnover leading to a pair of Eubanks free throws got the Kings within three. Nikola bullied his way to bucket down low, Keegan Murray answered with a floater. After two Schröder freebies, the lead was cut to 1 heading into the final minute of the half. Jokic dropped in his 10th, 12th, and 13th points to close out the half and giving the Nuggets a tenuous 65-61 lead.
The Nuggets came out of the half in search of a second wind. Watson got his 13th point on a put-back, followed by Cam finding Jok on the roll for an easy layup and 71-64 lead. Nikola followed with an offensive board and put-back, and then Cam’s third triple gave the Nuggets their first double-digit lead at 76-66. Murray extended the run with a fade-away jumper. Frustrated, starting center Eubanks picked up his 4th foul and a tech, sending him back to the bench at the 7:30 mark. The other Murray ended the Nuggets 12-2 run with a three before the Joker converted two FTs after a hard foul. Another Murray three for the Kings kept them in touch, and a jumper in the lane brought the Kings back to 81-74. Schröder’s three then prompted a Nuggets timeout.
Nov 22, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets center Jonas Valanciunas (17) and forward Spencer Jones (21) work against Sacramento Kings guard Nique Clifford (5) for a loose ball during the second half at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images
Looking lifeless to close out the third, an Achiuwa and-one and another Schröder jumper tied the game at 84-84. Schröder then gave the Kings their first lead since the first quarter before Murray restored order with a driving layup. DeRozan threw the ball away, giving Murray a shot at a wide-open three to end the third, but he missed right, the Nuggets clinging to a 92-91 lead.
Murray began the 4th with purpose after trying to fire up the team in the huddle. Two sharp passes to Bruce led to one conversion on a short jumper followed by a run-out on a made FT for a trey from the elbow and a 4-point lead. The Kings immediately matched the energy, though, converting on a Monk three, a Clifford layup (Westbrook’s 10th assist), and a Russ blow-by, forcing Adelman to call a timeout with 9:00 remaining and a three-point deficit for the good guys.
Westbrook hit a three out of the timeout and had some words for the Nuggets bench as Jokic prepared to return. He immediately hit a three to get the game back to three, with the intensity ramping up. KM dropped yet another three for the Kings, countered by an awkward jumper for Jokic. LaVine matched with a tough two from distance, and an easy Monk layup and foul led to another timeout as the Kings’ lead ballooned to 112-103.
Every stop Denver gets right now feels like a prayer answered from above.
— Ryan Blackburn (@NBABlackburn) November 23, 2025
Murray began the comeback with a driving layup for his 23rd point. Westbrook answered after an offensive rebound, but Cam hit his fourth three for a season-high 20 points. After a Jokic turnaround hook in the lane, the lead was cut to 116-110 with 4:15 left. Murray dug out a 50/50 ball on his back, leading to a Jokic “water polo” put-back out of the two-man game, giving the Kings a reason to pause the action.
Doing his part to lead the upset, Westbrook drained a corner three out of the timeout. Jokic matched with a three for his 36th point. DeMar followed a miss with a floater, giving the Kings a 6-point lead with 2:00 to go. A LaVine airball with 1:09 helped the cause, and Jokic converted with a running hook.
And then Westbrook did it again, hitting his second dagger in as many minutes, an off-balance jumper on the baseline. Jokic would not go gentle, though, sinking a clutch three with :29 seconds remaining and bringing the Nuggets to within three. It was all for not, though, as Nuggets defensive specialist Spencer Jones fouled DeRozan on a banked-in jumper for his fifth foul (1 point, -15).
Jokic was miraculously fouled on a three-point attempt after just two seconds. He hit all three, giving him 44/13/7 (20 in the 4th), but leaving the Nuggets with a 126-123 deficit with 10 seconds left. The Kings in-bounded to DeRozan, who was immediately trapped by three Nuggets but got bailed out by the refs. Jokic missed a desperation three on the last possession to seal the upset for the Kings.
FINAL SCORE: Sacramento Kings 128, Denver Nuggets 123
GAME NOTES:
- Westbrook finished with 21/6/11 and 2 stocks
- Spencer Jones was the only Nuggets starter with a negative plus/minus on the night, finishing a -18
- The Nuggets got in at 3 a.m. after a physical game in Houston
