The Washington Wizards defeated the Denver Nuggets, 92 - 85, at Verizon Center on Thursday. In a game between two struggling teams, there was a lot of sloppy play in this game. In fact, there were 48 combined turnovers between the two teams and an NBA-high 29 turnovers committed by the Nuggets. Denver actually took an 11 - point lead after the first quarter, but proceeded to allow Washington to win the other three quarters by at least five points each. Defense was key for the Wizards, as they held the Nuggets to 41 percent shooting and the aforementioned turnover total. Shooting was bad all - around for the Nuggets, as they went 67 percent from the free - throw line and 22 percent from three - point range. There were only two ties and six lead changes in total. Denver (8 - 15) played this game without Emmanuel Mudiay and Kenneth Faried, as the offense really could n't get anything going. Nikola Jokic was the lone bright spot though, leading the team with 17 points and 11 rebounds off the bench. Danilo Gallinari was second on the team, with 13 points and four rebounds on 3 - of - 11 shooting. Jameer Nelson got the start for Mudiay and finished with 10 points, four rebounds and eight assists. Wilson Chandler had a nightmare game, going 2 - of - 16 from the field, en route to five points and eight boards off the bench. The Nuggets will look to play better on Saturday, when they travel to face the Orlando Magic. Washington (8 - 13) have had to lean heavily on their starters all season long and all five players played at least 33 minutes in this tight win. Bradley Beal led the team in scoring, dropping 26 points, three rebounds and five assists. John Wall went just 5 - of - 14 from the field, but still tallied 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals in the victory. Markieff Morris also scored 15 points, adding three rebounds and four assists. On deck for Washington is a home matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday.
["TeamStat(G,'Wizards') has 13 Percentage of 3 points ,has 92 Percentage of field goals ,has 8 Losses ."
 "TeamStat(G,'Nuggets') has 22 Percentage of 3 points ,has 41 Percentage of field goals ,has 15 Losses ,has 85 Total points ,has 8 Wins ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Danilo Gallinari') has 11 Assists ,has 3 Field goals attempted ,has 4 Field goals made ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Jameer Nelson') has 8 Assists ,has 10 Field goals attempted ,has 4 Field goals made ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Wilson Chandler') has 16 Assists ,has 2 Field goals attempted ,has 5 Field goals made ,has 8 Points ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Nikola Jokic') has 17 Assists ,has 11 Field goals attempted ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Markieff Morris') has 4 Assists ,has 15 Field goals attempted ,has 3 Field goals made ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Bradley Beal') has 5 Assists ,has 26 Field goals attempted ,has 3 Field goals made ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'John Wall') has 5 Assists ,has 14 Field goals attempted ,has 5 Field goals made ,has 15 Points ,has 7 Total rebounds ,has 3 Steals ."]