Nuggets Come Inches Away From Buzzer-Beating Win Over Mavericks

The Denver Nuggets came just inches away from pulling off a comeback win over the Dallas Mavericks. After falling behind by 21 points, the Nuggets stormed back to take a lead of their own, but first-overall pick Cooper Flagg put together one of the best games of his young career to help the Mavericks secure the win.

Flagg finished the game with 33 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists on 14-21 shooting from the field and 4-6 from three-point range, joining Luka Doncic as the only teenagers in NBA history to record those numbers in a game.

Nikola Jokic passes up the game-winner

With the Nuggets down by just one point and seven seconds left, Jamal Murray brought the ball up the court, and to minimal surprise, found Nikola Jokic. The three-time MVP had the ball in his hands with a chance to win the game with a bucket, but when he got quadruple-teamed in the paint, he decided to kick it out to a wide-open Peyton Watson in the corner.

Watson fired up an open look as time expired, but in heartbreaking fashion, the shot rimmed out, sealing the Mavericks' nail-biting victory.

Peyton Watson has a wide-open potential game-winner in the corner but it rims out.

The Mavericks defeat the Nuggets with a final score of 131-130. pic.twitter.com/6yA5RuLQSF
— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) December 24, 2025

Watson's miss could not have looked better as it left his hands, and even as it approached the basket, as it practically came just inches away from falling.

Nuggets get a trio of huge performances

It is certainly a far-from-ideal scenario where Watson is taking that final shot, especially with how incredible Jokic, Murray, and Tim Hardaway Jr. were playing. Jokic finished the night with 29 points, 14 assists, and seven rebounds on 12-22 shooting from the field and 5-10 from deep. Murray was equally impressive, dropping 31 points with 14 assists and seven rebounds as well, shooting 12-21 from the field.

Off the bench, Hardaway Jr. dropped 23 points on 8-13 shooting from the field. With all three of these guys on the floor to close the game, the final shot found Watson's hands, who finished the game with four points on 0-3 shooting from the field.

Of course, no knock to Watson, and it is no shock that Jokic made the "right play" by finding the open man, but these are typically situations where the team just has to trust Jokic or Murray to create a shot for themselves.

Nikola Jokic passes up the game-winner

Nuggets get a trio of huge performances

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