January 8: Jamal Murray scored 37 points, which is the most for the season. Nikola Jokic ended with 16 assists, which is two short of his career high. The Denver Nuggets beаt the failing Detroit Pistons 131-114 on Sunday night, coming back from a disappointing loss to Orlando.

The Nuggets lost to the Magic by 18 points on Friday night, but they came back to win their ninth straight game.

This was Detroit’s 18th straight loss on the road. Star guard Cade Cunningham hurt his left knee in the second quarter. The Pistons have lost 33 games in a row.

Jokic only made three shots and scored four points, but he blocked five shots. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Michael Porter Jr. both scored 18 points for the Nuggets. Peyton Watson scored 15 points, and Reggie Jackson scored 13 points and had nine assists.

Alec Burks scored 18 points, Bojan Bogdanovic scored 14, Jaden Ivy scored 13, Kevin Knox II scored 12, and Isaiah Livers scored 11. Jalen Duren led the Pistons with 20 points.

At the half, Murray scored 24 points to give the Nuggets a 65-57 lead. Detroit was ahead by four points in the second quarter.

Denver’s lead grew to 71-58 when Jokic set up Caldwell-Pope for a dunk. Murray scored the first four points of the second half for the Nuggets.

Jokic’s passes helped the Nuggets keep building their lead. During a stretch when he helped Denver score eight straight goals, he set up Aaron Gordon for a dunk and a foul, and he found Murray for a 25-foot 3-pointer. He finished off the strong play by making an alley-oop with Watson that made the score 90–73.

When they scored another three points in the last three minutes of the third quarter, the Nuggets had a 15-point lead. Christian Braun made a layup, and Watson made a free throw and a 3-pointer to make it 98–79. DeAndre Jordan scored three points after a dunk, and Watson made another 3-pointer to end the run and make it 108–85 going into the fourth.

From then on, the Pistons could only get as close as 15 points.