Thread by @JoelRushNBA

Okay, here we go, gonna do a thread of #Nuggets highlight plays from their win at the #Lakers last night.

The clips below are a sampler of Jokic's defensive possessions against AD, but most of these will be scoring plays, and mostly in game order, but some grouped by player.

Nikola Jokic opened up on a mission, scoring 4 of the #Nuggets first 5 field goals:

-Takes Dwight from the FT line to the rim for the layup

-Cuts and takes a great feed from Monte Morris for the floater

-posts up Dwight for the midrange j

-bullies Melo inside for the layup

JaMychal Green puts back his own transition layup attempt

Monte Morris grabs the rebound, takes it coast-to-coast, and splits the defenders at the other end for the fast break layup

Great entry pass by Bones Hyland (he had a *lot* of these in this game - something to consider given the #Nuggets' troubles feeding Jokic), getting it to DeMarcus Cousins, who has a great dish of his own to Aaron Gordon for the dunk.

Bones Hyland pulls up for the smooth elbow jumper

Boogie Cousins was a one-man wrecking crew in his first stint for the #Nuggets last night:

-posts up Wenyen Gabriel off another nice entry pass from Bones, backs him in, hooks it right over him

-driving layup on Gabriel for and-1 chance

-offensive board & putback on Gabriel

-

Playing Aaron Gordon w/ the bench to stagger the starters = great plan by Michael Malone.

AG came up big in this sequence:

-first with the big dunk finish on the great oop pass by Davon Reed (AG so saw it coming, watch him wind up on the crouch)

-and then the go-ahead 3pointer

Nikola Jokic posts up Dwight Howard to drain the midrange j

Will Barton drives around a Nikola Jokic screen for the layup and-1.

Aaron Gordon scored from all over the floor for the #Nuggets last night. Here:

-a HUGE, reverse, behind-the-back-of-his-head dunk off a great feed from Nikola Jokic

-a corner 3 off some great ball movement and an excellent Bones Hyland screen

-tough, contested midrange jumper

"My name is Bones! Remember it!"

Bones Hyland drives on the break for a goaltended layup and-1 (hit the glass before the block)

Then drills a 3 in transition off great ball movement

*Bonus anecdote: Bones shouts the above quote to Barton when playing against Team Thrill in AAU

Will Barton scored 6 points in under 8 seconds at the end of the first half to give the #Nuggets a 1-point lead at the break.

-Corner 3-pointer off a nice Boogie assist

-Then fouled by Malik Monk on another 3 attempt, drains all 3 FTs

Nikola Jokic did a lot of his damage in the paint to start the 2nd half of #Nuggets @ #Lakers:

-short pull-up jumper in the lane

-drives on Anthony Davis for the layup

-then in transition it's Aaron Gordon to Jokic to Gordon to Jokic for the fast break layup

Nikola Jokic takes it up the court and dishes back to Will Barton for the 3-pointer

Excellent court read by Monte Morris here out of the side PnR with Jokic, as probing his options he finds his way cross court to feed Aaron Gordon in the corner for 3.

Also great to see AG's 3s falling. He was 3 of 5 from the arc last night.

"Oh, with some jelly!"

Nikola Jokic tips out the rebound to Bones Hyland, who takes it up the court for the crafty finish (and low-key serious hang time) on the transition layup

@BizzyBones11

Nikola Jokic steps across the free throw line for the long floater as Dwight Howard turns his back on him.

Probably the easiest shot Joker will have had all season.

Will Barton really started heating up for the #Nuggets in the 3rd quarter:

-transition 3-pointer off a nice assist from Bones Hyland

-driving layup off the glass

-HUGE long-range 3 with the shot clock winding down

@WillTheThrillB5

Davon Reed got in on all the fun the #Nuggets were having last night draining fast break 3-pointers, with an assist from (who else?) Nikola Jokic

"That's a million-dollar move by the reining MVP!"

Nikola Jokic went beast mode int he 3rd quarter:

-drives straight at Anthony Davis for the layup

-lays it in on the cut off a great entry pass from Will Barton

-huge pull-up 3-pointer w/ SCREAM

"And he gets all fired up!"

And another 3-pointer by Davon Reed. If he hits two of these in his limited minutes like he did last night, that's really great for the Nuggets, very solid production relative to expectation/need.

DeMarcus Cousins came up big (no pun intended?) in the 4th quarter as well:

-long-range 2-pointer with the shot clock winding down

-posts up Gabriel and overpowers him (again) for the layup

-and bullies his way through 4 guys in the paint for another layup

Aaron Gordon puts back Monte Morris' missed driving layup attempt

Will Barton cuts to the corner for 3 off the Nikola Jokic assist...

A play so nice, the #Nuggets had to run it twice. 😎

This was "blood in the water" time for Nikola Jokic, as the #Nuggets nursed a small lead over the #Lakers midway through the 4th quarter, and he was not gonna let them slip:

-drives on Howard for the short bunny

-from the arc, drives again for the long floater off the glass

This clutch defensive play by Davon Reed helped keep the #Nuggets' lead beyond reach of the #Lakers.

THT with the lazy inbound pass, Reed steals it and gets to the line to sink 2 free throws.

@ClutchREED_5

#Nuggets fans know Nikola Jokic as "The Big Tipper" in large part because @ChrisMarlowe says it all the time.

But here, as he corrals and puts back a missed 3, is Doris Burke waxing poetic on Joker's tipping prowess, which she just can't seem to get enough of.