Michael Porter Jr. collected 27 points and 11 rebounds against his former team on Sunday as the Brooklyn Nets led most of the way in a 127-115 victory over the Denver Nuggets in New York.
Acquired for Cameron Johnson and a future first-round pick in the offseason because Denver wanted to shed payroll, Porter made 8-of-17 shots after sitting out the previous two games due to illness.
Porter had his seventh double-double this season and the Nets improved to 11-16 with him in the lineup. He also made all nine free-throw attempts and handed out five assists.
Noah Clowney added 22 as the Nets shot 50.6%, sank 14 3-pointers and halted a three-game losing streak. Day’Ron Sharpe started again in place of Nic Claxton (personal reasons) and contributed 17.
Reserve Cam Thomas also added 17 after going scoreless in the first half, while rookie Egor Demin and Ziaire Williams chipped in 13 apiece for Brooklyn.
Jamal Murray scored 20 of his 27 points in the second half and also set a career-high with 16 assists, but the Nuggets lost for the sixth time in nine games. Tim Hardaway Jr. added 26 and Aaron Gordon contributed 20 in his return from a strained right hamstring.
The Nuggets shot 48.2% and made 11 of 31 threes, but were outrebounded 44-33.
The Nets held a 33-29 lead through the opening quarter, took a 57-45 lead late in the second after Porter dunked following an errant Murray pass and held a 59-52 advantage at halftime after Murray sank a 22-footer with two-tenths of a second left.
Brooklyn extended its lead to 77-61 when Clowney hit threes on consecutive possessions with just under eight minutes left in the third. The Nets took a 91-73 lead on a 3-pointer by rookie Nolan Traore with 3:30 left and took a 100-84 lead into the fourth after Thomas sank a 3 with 5.2 seconds remaining.
After Hardaway hit threes on consecutive possessions early in the fourth to get Denver within 100-90, Brooklyn pulled away again. Thomas scored the final seven points of Brooklyn’s 12-0 run and his drive to the rim put the Nets ahead 112-90 with 8:25 left and Brooklyn never led by fewer than 11 the rest of the way.
