PHILADELPHIA — DeMarcus Cousins smiled after going chest-to-chest with James Harden in the fourth quarter.
It was just the kind of audacity the Nuggets needed to swoop into Philadelphia and snatch an, 114-110, MVP-caliber win.
Having dropped two in a row entering Monday, the Nuggets played focused, fearless basketball in the second half behind their leader, Nikola Jokic. Their precocious rookie, Bones Hyland, followed suit, as did veteran JaMychal Green.
While Jokic paced the Nuggets with another near-triple-double of 22 points, 13 rebounds, and eight assists, Hyland caught fire in the fourth quarter. The rookie buried three 3-pointers in barely over a minute’s time, and then sunk another one with 1:51 remaining to demoralize the home crowd.