Westbrook exploded! Towards a career milestone, the Nuggets narrowly won by 6 points. In this battle, I must admit 3 facts

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On November 4, the NBA 2025-26 season ushered in the focus of the Western Conference. The Denver Nuggets sat at home and faced the Sacramento Kings. What makes people look forward to it is that this is the first time that Westbrook returns to Denver as a Kings player to play against his old team, the Nuggets. Before the game, he even greeted his former teammates in a friendly manner. I still miss the performance of Westbrook and the Nuggets in two consecutive tiebreakers in the playoffs last season. For the Nuggets, after strengthening key puzzle pieces such as Hardaway Jr., Johnson, and Davaran this summer, the team's lineup has finally become a little thicker. Jokic has also received qualified reinforcements, and the outside world has begun to raise expectations for his performance in the new season.

Before the game, the US media ESPN predicted the game. The Nuggets have an absolute upper hand with a winning rate of 80.2%, while the Kings have a winning rate of only 19.8%. In terms of the starting lineup for this game, for the Kings, the latest starting five arranged by the coach are: Dennis Schroder, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Russell Westbrook, and Domantas Sabonis; for the Nuggets, the starting lineup is: Jamal Murray, Christian Braun, Cameron Johnson, Aaron Gordon, Nikola Jokic.

At the beginning of the first quarter, Jokic and Aaron Gordon hit consecutive three-pointers at the beginning, and the Nuggets started 6-0. Jokic was pulled by Schroeder in a pick-and-roll and almost had a conflict. The referee blew the whistle and ruled that the latter fouled; Aaron Gordon scored a tip-in through Westbrook, and the Nuggets led 18-8 to double digits, stopping the Kings. Westbrook caught the ball in a wide open space and hit a three-pointer steadily, stopping the bleeding in time. LaVine also hit a jump shot, and the Kings narrowed the point difference to 5 points. Gordon cut to the basket to catch the ball, feinted over Westbrook and dunked easily. Jokic faced the defensive three-pointer and hit another strong shot. He has scored 15 points in a single quarter. Westbrook cut the ball and flew for a layup to score 2+1. He also responded with 11 points. After the first quarter, the Nuggets led the Kings by 9 points 39-30.

In the first quarter of the game, Jokic played for 12 minutes, scoring 15 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal on 6-of-12 shots.

Back in the second quarter, DeRozan hit a signature mid-range shot, Ellis converted a three-pointer and hit another, and the Kings narrowed the point difference to 5 points. Cameron Johnson stepped on the line and hit a two-point shot, and then scored a tip-in. He scored 6 points in a row, and the Nuggets once again opened the point difference to 9 points. LaVine counterattacked and scored hard against Varan on the fast break. There was also a foul and penalty. Murray converted and accelerated the breakthrough and also responded with a 2+1. Westbrook made a big open three-pointer steadily and scored 16 points. He has really practiced three-pointers. Sabonis converted to a fast break to catch the ball and score again. After halftime, the Kings were still 9 points behind the Nuggets 63-72.

Back in the second quarter, DeRozan hit a signature mid-range shot, Ellis converted a three-pointer and hit another, and the Kings narrowed the point difference to 5 points. Cameron Johnson stepped on the line and hit a two-point shot, and then scored a tip-in. He scored 6 points in a row, and the Nuggets once again opened the point difference to 9 points. LaVine counterattacked and scored hard against Varan on the fast break. There was also a foul and penalty. Murray converted and accelerated the breakthrough and also responded with a 2+1. Westbrook made a big open three-pointer steadily and scored 16 points. He has really practiced three-pointers. Sabonis converted to a fast break to catch the ball and score again. After halftime, the Kings were still 9 points behind the Nuggets 63-72.

Halftime data, for the Nuggets, Jokic played 16 minutes and scored 18 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 steal on 7-of-13 shooting; Aaron Gordon played 15 minutes, 5-of-8 and 3-of-5 three-pointers, scoring 15 points, 5 rebounds and 1 steal.

For the Kings, Westbrook played 18 minutes, making 6 of 11 shots, 3 of 5 three-pointers, and scored 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists.

Change sides and fight again. Cameron Johnson catches the three-pointer from the wide open corner and still hits the ball. Currently, he is 0-for-4 from three-point range. This feeling is really unstoppable. Westbrook assisted Eubanks in the alley to complete a two-handed dunk. He has already sent 20 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Gordon passed Westbrook with a backhand move from the outside, and hit a three-pointer with a step-back, igniting the audience and giving the Nuggets a 12-point lead. LaVine made a sudden foul and made two free throws before assisting Ellis to hit a three-pointer. The Kings narrowed the point difference to 9 points. Murray hit a back-up jumper at the buzzer. After three quarters, the Nuggets led the Kings by 11 points, 104-93.

In the decisive battle in the fourth quarter, Westbrook accelerated and passed Eubanks to score 2+1. He has scored 21 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Braun faced Westbrook's throw and scored. The Nuggets led by 13 points and stopped the Kings. Westbrook counterattacked and hit a layup that caused a foul and scored 27 points. The Nuggets challenged and successfully canceled the foul, but time was running out. In the end, the Nuggets narrowly defeated the Kings 130-124, ending their losing streak.

Full game statistics, for the Nuggets, Murray made 6 of 17 shots, 0 of 5 three-pointers, and scored 15 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists and 1 block; Jokic had 34 points, 7 rebounds, 14 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks, Braun had 21 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, and Gordon had 20 points, 7 rebounds and 1 assist.

For the Kings, Westbrook exploded, shooting 10 of 17, including 3 of 6 three-pointers, 4 of 4 free throws, 26 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals, ushering in the 525th career double-double milestone; DeRozan had 19 points and 3 rebounds, Schroeder had 18 points, 4 rebounds and 9 assists, LaVine had 15 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, and Sabonis had 13 points, 17 rebounds and 5 assists.

In this battle, I have to admit three facts! First, Westbrook really deserves everyone's respect. Although the outside world is not optimistic about him, he still relies on his love for basketball to gradually transform from a ball-holding core to a 3D role player. This season's three-point shooting rate has set a career high; second, Jokic is still The No. 1 player in the league can easily lead his team to victory, which really has too much influence on the game; third, the Nuggets and Nets acquired Johnson in this summer's trade. At present, in addition to lowering his salary, he is not as good as Porter in terms of defense, rebounding or three-pointers, which is indeed a bit of a loss.

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