WASHINGTON — A few of the Nuggets’ best performances this season have come in the second game of a back-to-back set. The win at Toronto on Dec. 3. The win at Minnesota on Dec. 15. And the win at Phoenix on Dec. 23.
The Nuggets got back to that Thursday night.
“There was a sense of urgency,” coach Michael Malone said. “We’ve lost two games in a row. We want to hold ourselves to a higher standard than just being close and losing against quality teams on the road.”
Denver’s 117-113 win over the Wizards at the Verizon Center was built on focus, determination and execution. The kind of execution that had gone missing at one time or another during most games. The Nuggets were able to quickly put behind them a disappointing performance at Boston on Wednesday night.
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“It’s great,” Danilo Gallinari said after Thursday’s win. “It tells us a lot about this team.”
The Wizards pressed the issue, especially in the fourth quarter, to create the kind of sloppy play that would cause the opponent to cough up a lead and steal a victory. The Nuggets bent. A lot.
Denver led by 18 points before Washington began chipping away at that advantage. Washington played desperate basketball and reaped the rewards of it, going on a 20-8 run to start the fourth quarter. Ramon Sessions was the catalyst, playing sticky defense and converting on the offensive end. Washington had come all the way back to tie the score at 99.
“Give them credit,” Malone said of the Wizards. “They turned up the pressure, they got into us and got very physical, and there was a stretch where we did not handle that very well.”
But the Nuggets eventually got their feet back under them.
With 5:24 to go, Gary Harris hit a 3-point shot to stop that 20-8 run and put the Nuggets ahead 102-99. The Wizards cooled off after that. They went four consecutive possessions without a point and nothing but two turnovers to show for them.
Meanwhile, at 3:16 in the fourth, Gallinari hit a 3-pointer that gave the Nuggets a six-point lead. Bradley Beal then ended a near three-minute span of no points for the Wizards with a jump shot to bring them back within four.
Gallo hit another 3-pointer with 1:33 to go to keep the Nuggets out in front.
And they held on from there.
“We didn’t go on a big losing streak, but it’s always good to win, especially on the road,” said rookie guard Emmanuel Mudiay. “Getting a road win helps give us a little momentum going into the next game.”
The Nuggets have been good in tight games all season, going 8-3 in games decided by three points or fewer. Thursday’s game was headed in that direction, but between making big shots from the field and free throws and a huge block by Kenneth Faried late in the contest, the Nuggets were able to keep it out of that territory.
Gallinari led the Nuggets with 26 points, six assists and five rebounds. Mudiay had some rough spots in the fourth quarter but was good overall with 20 points, four rebounds and four assists. Nikola Jokic added a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Christopher Dempsey: cdempsey@denverpost.com or @dempseypost
