In a season already loaded with plays, the Nuggets saved their most dramatic finish yet for the most dedicated crowd when they left Sacramento with a 130-129 victory after dark on Monday.

Denver blew a 23-point lead early, then overcame a 10-point deficit 4:10 into the final game for its fourth fourth-quarter double-digit comeback win of the season. There were seven lead changes in the final 75 seconds, culminating with Jamal Murray’s game-winning mid-range jumper with 8.6 seconds left.

Murray’s magic trick

Murray’s uncanny ability to turn terrible individual performances into timely heat checks and cold-blooded game winners is one of life’s great mysteries. He did it again in Sacramento, scoring 15 of his team-leading 28 points in Game 4. Towards the end of the third round he carefully disappeared into the dressing room for a short break before checking in again. Just three days earlier, he revealed that in addition to a hamstring injury that recently sidelined him, he was also suffering from plantar fasciitis.

Doesn’t matter. He got going during Nikola Jokic’s rest minutes by knocking down a pair of three-pointers. Then Denver’s two-man game took over in the final minute. Murray got separation on an 8-foot teardrop with 52.2 seconds left to take a 125-124 lead; assisted Jokic, who made just the 3-pointer with 30 seconds left to regain a 128-127 lead; Then on the final possession, he slid around a Jokic screen to get to his stepback.

The point guard made his final five shots after starting the game, going 6-for-21 from the field. He scored nine of his points in the final 4:10 minutes, during the decisive 21-10 run.

Murray is slowly increasing his stats again. He’s averaging 18.4 points (within 0.1 of Michael Porter Jr.) and shooting 34.8% from 3. Those numbers looked much worse in early December. He was Denver’s leading scorer in consecutive games, both victories. Cashing in his trademark clutch on Monday was the most reassuring sign yet.

Fast pace, defense optional

The Nuggets have a transition defense problem that is much bigger than one game. But this one summed it up adequately.

In a competition that was inconsistently managed and sloppily executed, the Kings thrived on chaos. They scored 30 fast break points, many of which were uncontested, while the Nuggets refused to run back after turnovers. Denver allows 18.2 transition points per game, fourth-most in the league.

The Nuggets allowed 47 points in the second quarter alone, negating their clinical start. They committed weak shooting fouls on layups and jumpers. In the final four minutes of the frame, De’Aaron Fox began traversing the entire defense to score easy baskets.

All five Sacramento starters were in double figures at halftime, while Jokic was the lowest-scoring starter on both teams, a sign of his strange reluctance to get back at Domantas Sabonis, who frequently pounded him in the post. Aaron Gordon’s faceoff ball covered Jokic in the first quarter, but the center’s passive approach eventually caught up with him. The Kings came back in no time with superior physicality and speed.

When Jokic played in drop coverage, there was nothing he could do to slow Sacramento’s momentum. But Malone got into a zone in the fourth quarter that disrupted the hosts’ rhythm just often enough.

Fox finished with 29 points. Sabonis scored 28, in addition to 14 rebounds and six assists. DeMar DeRozan drove past Jokic in the final minute for an easy dunk. But as the final five seconds elapsed, he fumbled past a pass from Sabonis while going for another baseline dunk, forcing himself into a tougher fadeaway look instead of at the buzzer. It was the first possession to end empty-handed for either team since Sacramento lost possession at 1:35.

With Braun out, Westbrook starts

Christian Braun was sidelined an hour before the game began with a lower back strain, ending a streak of 122 straight games for the 23-year-old guard. This also included playoff games. The last time he did not appear in a game was on May 22, 2023, in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals against the Lakers. Braun now has eight DNPs in his three-year career. He had played in 153 of the last 154 games before Monday.

His first absence of the season created a new lineup scenario for Michael Malone, with Julian Strawther, Russell Westbrook and Peyton Watson each representing viable options. Malone relied on experience and played together against Westbrook and Jamal Murray in a starting five for the first time. Westbrook played a productive game, collecting an efficient 18 points, nine rebounds, 10 assists and three steals.