NBA: Nuggets, without their starting five, defeated Philadelphia in a trench battle

It’s too late, Joel, too late! Joel Embiid’s block came a fraction too late, the basket counts, and the win goes to Denver!

David Adelman was sweating it out all night, his pulse racing. He knew he wouldn’t have Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray was also out, and he didn’t use Aaron Gordon either. He was missing his entire starting five — and still, he pulled it off.

He could have secured the win without much drama, but Tyrese Maxey made life difficult, dragged Denver into overtime, and there Bruce Brown stormed through the finish like a bullet train and knocked Philadelphia flat — 125–124. The trench warfare went to Denver’s second unit, who dug for every single basket once the game went to overtime.

The Nuggets had the win in their hands, leading in regulation, but the margin was easily reachable in the closing moments. One wrong decision, one lapse in concentration or moment of carelessness, and the advantage was gone — something Tyrese Maxey took full advantage of.

When the game entered the final minute, Tyrese Maxey scored to make it 120–120 and, as it turned out, sent the game into overtime. There, points were “delivered with force,” every basket celebrated as if it were a goal. Denver got off to a good start when Jalen Pickett immediately hit a three — his seventh out of 11 attempts.

But from that moment until the final few seconds, every Denver player seemed to run into a wall. Philadelphia were a bit more composed on offense, twice showing a steady hand. One of those players was Joel Embiid, and had he been a hundredth of a second quicker at the end, he would have been the most important figure of overtime.

Everything turned upside down. Joel Embiid could have been the hero, but instead became the tragic figure. With 11 seconds left, Spencer Jones smothered Embiid, Bruce Brown scooped up the ball and charged toward the basket. Philadelphia’s center chased him down and managed to block the attempt, but the ball had already touched the backboard. The referees ruled the basket good, and then Tyrese Maxey missed, plunging the Nuggets into celebration.

One man had already saved the 76ers by forcing overtime, and it would have been too much to ask for them to be rescued by him again.

Joel Embiid’s consolation prize was being the game’s leading scorer with 32 points, Tyrese Maxey added 28, and Jalen Pickett scored one more. Peyton Watson finished with 24 points, Zeke Nnaji had 21, and Bruce Brown ended the night with 19. But the weight of the final basket is immeasurable — as is Spencer Jones’ lone block of the night.