Denver was the more motivated team in this matchup and that proved to be the case in the scoreline. It was a near wire - to - wire win for the Nuggets, as they led for over 47 minutes of this game, with Sacramento having just one one - point lead in the first quarter. Free-throw shooting was key, as the Nuggets went 16 - of - 18 from the charity stripe, while Sacramento could only hit 12 - of - 20. Gary Harris was the player of the game, as he led Denver with 24 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Nikola Jokic totaled 20 points, 14 rebounds and two steals, Mason Plumlee flirted with a triple - double off the bench, as he collected eight points, seven rebounds and eight assists. Buddy Hield led Sacramento in scoring, as he tallied 17 points, six rebounds and three assists on 6 - of - 8 from the field. Tyreke Evans came off the bench to provide 16 points, three rebounds and two assists. Willie Cauley-Stein accrued 13 points, five rebounds and five assists.
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 "PlayerStat(G,'Gary Harris') has 2 Assists ,has 24 Field goals attempted ,has 3 Field goals made ,has 2 Points ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Mason Plumlee') has 8 Assists ,has 8 Field goals attempted ,has 7 Field goals made ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Willie Cauley-Stein') has 5 Assists ,has 13 Field goals attempted ,has 5 Field goals made ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Buddy Hield') has 3 Assists ,has 8 Field goals attempted ,has 6 Field goals made ,has 17 Points ,has 6 Total rebounds ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Tyreke Evans') has 2 Assists ,has 16 Field goals attempted ,has 3 Field goals made ."]