Willpower fuels Denver
Barton plays star role, scoring 23 points in big road win for Nuggets
WASHINGTON» After Will Barton let another longball fly from the left wing, he connected his right thumb to his index finger. Then he slammed his middle, ring and pinkie fingers to his temple and let out a big yell as Wizards coach Scott Brooks called a timeout.
It was an appropriate celebration for the biggest shot of Barton’s fourth-quarter outburst near his hometown of Baltimore — a 3pointer with 1:22 to play that put the Nuggets back up by five points. He scored 14 of his 23 points in the final period and added seven rebounds, three assists and three blocks to help Denver fight off Washington 108-100 on Friday night at the Capital One Center in a crucial victory for the Nuggets’ postseason hopes.
“Whatever I had to do to get a win,” Barton said of his performance. “Whether it’s rebounding, getting stops, making shots, making plays, whatever. I just wanted to win. … We know what we’re fighting against right now. We’re in must-win mode.”
Denver (40-33), which matched its total wins from last season with nine games still to play, moved within one game of the eighth playoff slot in a crowded Western Conference. Utah, which holds that position, lost at San Antonio in overtime Friday. The Nuggets also increased their lead to 1½ games over the 10th-place Clippers, who lost Friday at Indiana.
Barton went 5-of-12 from the field Friday, with every make coming from beyond the arc, and sank all eight of his free-throw attempts in the game’s final 5:37.
He answered a Markieff Morris jumper that sliced Denver’s lead
to 87-86 with 6:29 to play with a pull-up trey, then hit two foul shots on Denver’s next possession to extend its lead to 92-86.
After the scream-inducing 3pointer gave the Nuggets a 100-95 advantage, he then blocked Kelly Oubre’s attempt from beyond the arc on the Wizards’ next time down the floor. Then he hit six free throws in the final 1:01.
“People criticize people Will because he’s not the most efficient player at times, and I understand that,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “But Will Barton is a guy that has tremendous self-belief. He’s never afraid of the moment. He wants to be in that moment. He has the courage, if you will.”
Yet Barton had help in that final period from several teammates, who were playing for the fourth consecutive game without injured leading scorer Gary Harris. Denver shook off letting a 14-point third-quarter lead slip away by answering anytime Washington made a push.
When Ramon Sessions got past Devin Harris in the lane for a layup to cut the Nuggets’ lead to 83-81 with 8:37 left, Denver answered with five consecutive points, including an alley-oop dunk by Mason Plumlee.
When an Otto Porter floater put Washington up 93-92 with 4:21 remaining, Jamal Murray nailed a 3 and Nikola Jokic (25 points, eight rebounds, five assists) followed with a finish inside to retake the lead 97-93.
Murray, who scored 20 of his 25 points in the first half to help Denver build a double-digit lead, also hit two free throws with 41.5 seconds to go to put Denver up 104-97.
The Wizards began their secondhalf charge by drilling seven of their 14 3-pointers in the third quarter, as the Nuggets failed to consistently get their hands up while closing out defensively on shooters. Bradley Beal (24 points, five assists) hit two straight to give Washington a 76-75 advantage with in the period, before Devin Harris’ own deep ball put Denver back up by two entering the final period
The Nuggets are now 2-2 on this season-long, seven-game road trip, with a back-to-back set at Philadelphia on Monday and Toronto on Tuesday up next. It’s no coincidence that the two consecutive victories have coincided with Barton snapping out of a 36.6 percent shooting slump over his previous eight games before Wednesday’s rout at Chicago.
Friday’s outburst came near his hometown. But he did not notice the cheers that popped out in the road crowd. He cared that his performance helped propel the Nuggets to a critical late-season win.
“It’s just another place for me to let go,” Barton said. “All I see is the game.”