This Nuggets team still has fight in them, but can it overcome injuries?
The Denver Nuggets have dealt with just about everything this season, from losing Nikola Jokic for weeks with a knee injury to watching Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson go down with hamstring issues at different points throughout the year.
Their starting lineup has barely been whole, and yet here they are at 41-26 and sitting in a tie for third place in the Western Conference.
Thursday night's 136-131 comeback win over the San Antonio Spurs on the road was just the latest example of why this team refuses to go away quietly.
Murray Carried the Nuggets When It Mattered Most
Denver trailed by as many as 20 points early in the third quarter against a Spurs team that had won 16 of its last 17 games and holds the second-best record in the West at 48-18.
It looked like a game that was slipping away, especially on the second night of a back-to-back after the Nuggets had already beaten Houston the night before.
But Jamal Murray had other plans.
After a quiet first half where he managed just nine points, Murray erupted for 30 second-half points and 16 in the fourth quarter alone to fuel a 34-12 run that flipped the game on its head.
His step-back three with under five minutes left gave Denver its first lead of the night, and he sealed it by going a perfect 15-for-15 from the free-throw line, including four straight in the closing seconds.
He finished with 39 points on 11-of-21 shooting to go with seven assists and two rebounds in 40 minutes.
After the game, Murray put the win into perspective and talked about what it meant for a team that has been through so much already this season.
"These are the games you live for," Murray said. "May not be playoffs, but these wins mean a lot. It says a lot about your character as a group on the road, dealing with adversity. ... But it's amazing to see this group come away with a victory."
Jokic Was Dominant Too
While Murray stole the show with his fourth-quarter takeover, Nikola Jokic was just as impressive with a stat line of 31 points, 20 rebounds and 12 assists for yet another triple-double.
It was his third straight triple-double, and the kind of all-around performance that continues to make a strong case for another MVP award.
Why Denver Should Scare the Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder sit at the top of the West with a dominant 52-15 record, and they have already beaten the Nuggets twice this season in close games that came down to the wire.
But both of those matchups came while Denver was dealing with key injuries, and the Nuggets still pushed the Thunder to overtime in one of them.
With Watson expected to return as early as next week and Gordon recently back in the lineup, the Nuggets are finally getting closer to full strength at the perfect time.
Murray is averaging career-highs of 25.7 points, 7.1 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game this season, and Jokic is putting up 28.7 points, 12.7 rebounds and 10.4 assists a night.
When this roster is fully healthy and playing the way they did against the Spurs, there is not a team in the West that should feel comfortable facing them in a seven-game series.
That includes Oklahoma City.