Jamal Murray scored nine of his 27 points in the final 2:26 to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 107-103 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday at Ball Arena.
Michael Porter Jr. had a season-high 38 points and 10 rebounds in his return to Denver, but Brooklyn extended its losing streak to seven games.
Tim Hardaway Jr. hit seven 3-pointers on his way to 25 points, while Peyton Watson added 19 points for the Nuggets, who snapped a three-game home losing streak.
Porter, drafted 14th overall by Denver in 2018, was honored with a video tribute at the first timeout and received a standing ovation from the crowd.
Brooklyn erased a 15-point halftime deficit to trail 79-76 heading into the fourth, but Denver regained control, building an 87-79 lead with 8:43 remaining.
Porter’s steal and layup tied the game at 90, and Nolan Traore briefly gave Brooklyn its first lead since early in the contest, but Murray’s turnaround jumper and three-point play in the final minutes sealed the win.
Leading 105-100, Watson fouled Terance Mann on a 3-point attempt with 4.4 seconds left; Mann made all three free throws, but Jonas Valanciunas added two free throws with 2.6 seconds left to preserve the Nuggets’ victory.
Both teams played without key players due to injuries, including four missing starters for Denver and Nets forward Ziaire Williams, who suffered a left calf contusion in Tuesday’s loss at Phoenix.
Denver improves to 32-16 with the win and hosts the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday, while Brooklyn falls to 12-34 and travels to Utah for their next matchup.
