By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Denver Nuggets dominated the Philadelphia 76ers from start to finish after blasting them by 35 points, 144-109, during their NBA regular season inter-conference matchup on January 22, 2025.
With the massive victory, the Nuggets just moved into fourth place in the Western Conference with a win-loss record of 27-16 while extending their winning streak to three consecutive games.
Fresh off back-to-back blowouts against the Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic, Denver hasn’t skipped a beat and continued their high-octane attack by abusing the paint with 68 points inside the shaded lane.
Without the presence of their superstar center Joel Embiid who is still nursing a left knee injury, Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon, and Christian Braun drove inside the 76ers’ hole at will and were just unstoppable before getting subbed out midway through the fourth.
Jokic kicked off Denver’s scoring party after hitting four straight baskets in just two minutes that set the tone for the upcoming avalanche by the Nuggets.
In just the first 12 minutes of action, Denver already tallied 35 points, but the worst was yet to come for the 76ers after the Nuggets dropped 42 and 40 points in the second and third frames, respectively.
With the newly injected energy that Russell Westbrook provided as a part of the starting unit, the Nuggets looked more lethal and caused tons of confusion for the 76ers’ defense with their nonstop cutting and curling around the perimeter.
From their backdoor cuts to Jokic’s no-look alley-oop dunk play to Gordon, the game looked like an absolute Cinema. Jamal Murray also looked like the director in the closing credits after putting on a stellar ball-handling display that resulted in a layup before head coach Michael Malone pulled him out in the fourth.
For coach Malone, it was their balanced offensive attack that separated them from the 76ers, as six of their players all reached double figures in scoring led by Jokic who dropped 27 markers in an efficient 10/15 shooting from the field.
The reigning Most Valuable Player (MVP) also capped off the night with a triple-double, tallying 13 rebounds, 10 assists, four steals, and a block.
Julian Strawther continued to impress for the Nuggets and became their second-leading scorer with 23 points, followed by Braun who added 20.
On the other hand, Tyrese Maxey was the only 76er who performed on the road as the savvy guard put up 28 points in the loss.
Paul George, who was expected to shoulder the offensive load together with Maxey, only delivered 11 points in 28 minutes of playing time.
