Where: Capital One Arena, Washington, District of Columbia
Officials: #20 Leroy Richardson, #14 Ed Malloy, #36 Brent Barnaky
Attendance: 15986
Nikola Jokic had 15 points and 11 assists, and the visiting Denver Nuggets held off the Washington Wizards 113-108 on Thursday night.
The Nuggets, who began play one half-game behind Golden State in the Western Conference, have won five straight. The Warriors later defeated Indiana to retain sole possession of first in the West.
Eight Nuggets scored in double figures, including Paul Millsap, Gary Harris, Jamal Murray and Torrey Craig, who scored 15 points each.
With the scored tied 90-90, Craig hit a 3-pointer that started a 10-0 run capped by Malik Beasley's 3-pointer.
Bradley Beal's consecutive layups pulled Washington within 102-98 with 3:37 remaining.
Beal struck again when his steal and layup cut the Nuggets' lead to 106-104 with 1:53 to go, but Denver got a Murray layup, and after a Beal miss, a 3-pointer by Will Barton.
The Wizards hit four free throws to pull within 111-108, but Thomas Bryant missed a 3-point attempt. Harris missed two free throws but got the rebound and made two with 7.3 seconds left to ice it.
Beal scored 25 points for the Wizards, 11th in the Eastern Conference, who have lost three straight. Bryant scored 22, and Tomas Satoransky had 16 points and 10 assists.
Rookie Troy Brown Jr. made his first start in place of the injured Trevor Ariza for Washington and scored 13 points.
The Nuggets scored the first six points of the second half to build a 67-53 lead.
Then Satoransky hit a 3-pointer, Beal converted a three-point play and the Wizards were off. Denver turned the ball over five times, and Washington put together an extended 32-8 run to take an 85-75 lead on Bobby Portis' 3-pointer with 2:43 left in the third quarter.
Craig's 3-pointer kicked off a 10-0 Nuggets run, and an 18-footer by Monte Morris sent the teams into the fourth quarter tied at 85.
Denver shot 54.3 percent (25 of 46) in the first half and led 61-53 at intermission. Washington converted 21 of 39 field goals (53.8 percent).
For the game, the Nuggets outshot the Wizards, 52.9 percent to 50.6 percent.
--Field Level Media
| Denver | Washington | |
| Torrey Craig 15 | Scoring | Bradley Beal 25 |
| Nikola Jokic 11 | Assists | Tomas Satoransky 10 |
| Mason Plumlee 11 | Rebounds | Thomas Bryant 8 |
| Will Barton 2 | Free Throws Made | Thomas Bryant 4 |
| Paul Millsap 3 | Steals | Bradley Beal 3 |
| Jamal Murray 2 | Blocks | Thomas Bryant 2 |
| Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
| Denver | 113 | 52.9 | 14-30 | 7-11 | 30 | 40 | 4 | 9 | 8 |
| Washington | 108 | 50.6 | 8-28 | 20-21 | 25 | 38 | 2 | 4 | 12 |
- Washington will play their next game at home against Miami. The Wizards have a W/L % of .355 after a win and .452 after a loss.
- Denver will play their next game on the road against New York. The Nuggets have a W/L % of .750 after a win and .545 after a loss.