NBA: Denver demolishes Sacramento during Western Conference showdown

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The Denver Nuggets successfully protected its home-court advantage and pummeled the Sacramento Kings, 117-96, in the ongoing NBA regular season on February 29, 2024.

After a streak of rough shooting performances, Denver’s superstar point guard Jamal Murray tallied his best scoring output in nine games, top-scoring the Nuggets with 32 big points built from an efficient 13/15 shooting from the field.

Murray led Denver’s 37-20 offensive snowball in the second quarter to help them overcome a seven-point deficit after the first quarter.

The crafty floor general was everywhere on the court, dishing out dimes while breaking Sacramento’s defensive schemes with his slashing prowess and three-point shooting ability.

Murray wrapped up the win with only a single miss from downtown out of six attempts and tallied six assists, three rebounds, and a steal.

Denver officially closed the door on Sacramento when they established a 30-point lead in the third quarter, replicating its dominant second-quarter outing with a lopsided 35-17 scoring.

Backstopping Murray was former league Most Valuable Player (MVP) Nikola Jokic who delivered another triple-double performance of 14 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists.

Main power forward Aaron Gordon also stepped up for the Nuggets with an all-around performance of 17 points, six boards, and six dimes while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 16 markers derived from four made treys.

The Kings missed their superstar point guard De’Aaron Fox due to a left knee contusion injury and is aiming to suit up on March 2, 2024, against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

With the absence of Fox, it was the hot-handed Keegan Murray who continued to break out for the Kings as he dropped 21 points in the losing effort.