Nuggets Beat Mavericks 125-114 on NBA’s 1st Ever In-Season Tournament Night

On the first night of the NBA’s inaugural in-season tournament, the Denver Nuggets defeated the Dallas Mavericks 125-114 to improve to 5-1 on the season and 1-0 in Group B tournament play.

The in-season tournament will take place on Friday and Tuesday nights in November, and the special occasion of the games will be hard to miss: with each team sporting a vibrant-colored court as well as their city jerseys for the group play games.

Ball Arena installed a powder blue court with a yellow stripe down the middle reading “5280,” the same text that appears on Denver’s 2023-24 city edition jerseys.

The Nuggets are in Group B for the tournament which also includes the Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans, Los Angeles Clippers, and Houston Rockets. The Mavericks represent the Nuggets first opponent in group play, as well as the sixth game of the regular season for the Nuggets.

Dallas came in to Ball Arena 4-0, but lost their first game of the season as the Nuggets won 125-114 in a near wire-to-wire win. Denver went up 40-24 in the first quarter and never relinquished the lead despite a late push from the Mavericks.

Nikola Jokic dominated in Denver's West Group B opening W 💪

33 PTS 14 REB 9 AST 88% FG

The @nuggets next NBA In-Season Tournament matchup is Tuesday, 11/14 vs. LAC on TNT 🏆 pic.twitter.com/oRrY57stP0
— NBA (@NBA) November 4, 2023

Running the same starting five that just won an NBA championship less than five months ago, the Nuggets were locked and loaded against Luka Dončić, Kyrie Irving, and the previously undefeated Mavericks.

Nikola Jokić, as per usual, led the charge with 33 points, 14 rebounds, and 9 assists, scoring a bit more than his usual and finishing one assist shy of passing both Jason Kidd and LeBron James on the all-time triple double list.

Jamal Murray poured in 18 points while dishing out 13 assists, as the Canadian guard continues to up his assist average.

The X-factor for the Nuggets was Michael Porter Jr., who added 24 points, second-most on the team behind Jokic. Aaron Gordon posted a great all-around game, with 18 points, 6 assists, and 8 rebounds.

Christian Braun led the Nuggets bench scorers with 9 points in 15 minutes, and though he totaled just 3 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 assist, Peyton Watson was a burst of energy in his 13 minutes on the court.

Dončić nearly posted a triple double himself, with 34 points, 8 assists, and 10 rebounds. Irving had 22 points after missing back-to-back games, and Grant Williams and Josh Green had 13 points a piece. No other Mavericks reached double digit scoring.

The Mavericks fall to 4-1 and 0-1 in NBA in-season tournament group play, while the Nuggets improve to 5-1 and 1-0 in group play.

Do the Nuggets have what it takes to win the NBA Cup? Can Denver plow through the group stage just by virtue of being a consistent regular season team? Join the conversation with Sak Sports Blog on Twitter.