Denver Nuggets: The best game from every player not named Nikola Jokic
By Dean Hasan
Jan. 16 @ Golden State Warriors
On Jan. 16, Will Barton was thrilling to watch in San Francisco as he dropped a season-high 31 points against the Warriors. In a game where the Nuggets trailed by 15 after the first, 17 by halftime and were down by 19 at one point, the team needed every ounce of scoring from Barton to close the deficit and come away with the victory.
Barton, like the rest of the team, started out slow, converting on just two of five looks from the field for five of Denver’s disappointing 19 first-quarter points. In the second quarter, The Thrill converted on both of his three-point attempts and brought his point total up to 11 through the first 24 minutes of play.
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Barton continued his steady barrage from deep in the second half, recording another 14 points and five dimes to help push the game to overtime.
In the overtime period, Barton splashed both of the threes he attempted, and those six points were huge in Denver’s narrow three-point victory.
While his performance wasn’t overly flashy, Barton’s offensive consistency throughout the game was crucial. On a night where his team found themselves down big to an opponent against whom many would’ve expected a landslide victory, having another go-to guy outside of Jokic was key.