Poole Leads Wizards In Victory Over The Nuggets, Despite Jokic’s 56-Point Career-High Performance (12-7-24)
By: Jaden Golding
Headline Photo Credit: Washington Wizards
WASHINGTON D.C. – The Washington Wizards defeated the Denver Nuggets, 122-113 Saturday evening at Capital One Arena. With the win, Washington (3-18) snapped its 16-game losing skid.
Denver (11-10) has dropped three of its past four games.
The Nuggets were without two of its starters in point guard Jamal Murray (hamstring) and Aaron Gordon (calf). Veteran big man reserve Dario Saric also missed Saturday’s contest with an ankle issue.
Enter Serbian big man Nikola Jokic, who would have to shoulder the load of the offense. Jokic had his way from inside the paint, in the midrange, and hitting some shots from distance.
Jokic ultimately finished with 56 points, shooting 22-of-38 from the field while also hitting three 3-pointers, grabbing 16 rebounds, dishing out eight assists, and adding a steal. Despite the loss, he continues to dominate opposing teams night in and out and is making a case for the fourth MVP of his career.
Starters Christian Braun and Michael Porter Jr. had 14 and 12 points. With reserve Julian Strawther scoring 18 points adding three steals and two blocks.
Meanwhile onto the Washington side of things. The Wizards came into Saturday evening’s contest losers of 16 straight and have been off to a rough 2024-25 campaign.
The Wizards had a lot of players on the injury report heading into the contest. Alex Sarr was a late scratch with back soreness. Kyshawn George and Corey Kispert both injured their ankles on Dec. 3rd against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Malcolm Brogdon tweaked his hamstring in the matchup against the Mavericks two nights before the Denver matchup. Kyle Kuzma has missed time due to a rib injury he sustained in late November. Finally, Patrick Baldwin has dealt with calf soreness, and Tristan Vukcevic with a left knee contusion.
That meant time for veterans Jordan Poole and Jonas Valanciunas to guide the younger players who haven’t seen a whole lot of playing time against a championship-experienced team in the Nuggets.
Poole was dominant, using his ball-handling skills to create space and separation for jumpers outside the arc and heading inside the rack for baskets. At one point in the third quarter, he led a fast break where he shot a long-range three-pointer from the logo and it was all net. He went on to lead the Wizards with 39 points, five rebounds, eight assists, and racking up nine 3-pointers.
With the injuries, Justin Champagnie got the start at the four and had a great showing. Champagnie scored 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds. But had an excellent showing on the defensive end bringing overall great energy, stealing the ball twice, and blocking two shots.
The Wizards got out to a quick start, amassing an early 11-point lead in the first quarter. Washington played with energy on both sides and did a great job at matching whatever Denver threw at them. Poole started to get it going in the second quarter, scoring 16 points to help D.C. lead 69-57 at the half.
Denver cut the Wizards’ lead down to as close as three points in the third quarter, highlighted by Jokic scoring 23 of the 36 third-quarter points.
The key point of the game came at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Where Washington’s defense held the Nuggets without a field goal for the first four-and-a-half minutes to gain a comfortable 13-point lead that they would hold onto the rest of the way. Champagnie sealed the 122-113 victory with a dunk to lead by seven with 20 seconds left.
Valanciunas had a double-double performance scoring 20 and grabbing 12 boards. Rookie Bub Carrington scored 10 points, grabbed six rebounds, dished out five assists, and had four steals. Jared Butler had 12 points in 17 minutes of play.
