Denver Nuggets – Washington Wizards · NBA

Win probability changed during the game. · 22 January 2026

DEN107–97WAS

Is it worth watching?

Recommended

It was more exciting than 53% of NBA games since 2017

It measures how much the win probability moved during the game —without looking at who won or at the score— and compares it with the 10,950 NBA games with a curve since 2017. “Highly recommended” is the most intense 20%, “recommended” runs from 50% to 80%, and “skippable” is the rest. Source: ESPN.

↑ WAS winsDEN wins ↓

Home team's win probability across the game (source: ESPN). The band rises when WAS leads and falls when DEN does.

This is how the game was decided.

Peyton Watson decided it, the Denver Nuggets player with the most points (35, with 8 rebounds and 3 assists; +13 with him on the floor); the winner's best plus-minus was Aaron Gordon's (+23). The criterion: the winner's points in the box score; plus-minus says who was on the floor when the game opened up.

Washington Wizards 97-107 Denver Nuggets (January 22, 2026) was not decided in the closing minutes: the Denver Nuggets went ahead for good in the fourth quarter (8:34 left), with a layup by Bruce Brown for 85-83, and never gave up the lead.

The biggest run of Washington Wizards 97-107 Denver Nuggets (January 22, 2026) was a 9-0 run by the Denver Nuggets in the fourth quarter (from 8:34 to 6:14), from 83-83 to 92-83. The Washington Wizards' best was a 7-0 run between the second quarter and the third quarter, from 41-48 to 48-48.

With 35 points, this is Peyton Watson's highest-scoring regular-season game of his career.

What were the keys of the last Washington Wizards vs Denver Nuggets game?

▸See where these figures come from

I count as the game-winner the basket that puts the winning team ahead for good. Source: the official NBA play-by-play (since 2002-03) and each team's official box scores.

A run here is consecutive points by one team without the opponent scoring. Source: the official NBA play-by-play (since 2002-03) and each team's official box scores.

Source: the game's official box score and play-by-play.

It is compared by points with all his official NBA box scores in that scope; it is the same criterion the Analyst uses.

Rotations · who was on the floor

Closing lineup · DEN

Watson · Murray · Pickett · Gordon · Jones

Closing lineup · WAS

Carrington · Sarr · George · Johnson · Middleton

Q1Q2Q3Q4

DEN

Peyton Watson

40′ · +13

Jamal Murray

36′ · +18

Jalen Pickett

33′ · +16

Aaron Gordon

33′ · +23

Jonas Valanciunas

22′ · -3

Tim Hardaway Jr.

20′ · -8

Zeke Nnaji

10′ · -2

Spencer Jones

28′ · 0

Bruce Brown

18′ · -7

WAS

Bub Carrington

38′ · -18

Alex Sarr

36′ · -9

Kyshawn George

34′ · -4

Tre Johnson

34′ · -11

Khris Middleton

28′ · -18

Justin Champagnie

18′ · +2

Will Riley

21′ · +5

Jamir Watkins

18′ · +2

Anthony Gill

12′ · +1

Each bar is a stint on the floor (source: NBA). The number is minutes played and the team's +/− with him on the court. DEN and WAS.

These lineups played the most minutes together.

Denver Nuggets

Murray, Pickett, Watson, Valanciunas, and Gordon played 11.5 minutes together.
Their team won that stretch by 9 points.
Murray, Pickett, Watson, Jones, and Gordon played 7.7 minutes together.
Their team won that stretch by 8 points.
Brown, Pickett, Jones, Valanciunas, and Hardaway played 4.0 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 3 points.

Washington Wizards

Sarr, Carrington, George, Johnson, and Middleton played 19.7 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 6 points.
Sarr, George, Watkins, Johnson, and Riley played 5.1 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 1 point.
Gill, Champagnie, Carrington, Watkins, and Riley played 4.7 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 2 points.

▸See every lineup of the game

Denver Nuggets

Murray, Nnaji, Watson, Jones, and Hardaway played 3.5 minutes together.
Their team tied that stretch.
Murray, Brown, Pickett, Watson, and Gordon played 3.3 minutes together.
Their team won that stretch by 1 point.
Murray, Watson, Jones, Valanciunas, and Gordon played 3.0 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 5 points.
Murray, Brown, Nnaji, Jones, and Hardaway played 2.9 minutes together.
Their team tied that stretch.
Brown, Pickett, Watson, Jones, and Gordon played 2.7 minutes together.
Their team won that stretch by 5 points.
Murray, Watson, Jones, Hardaway, and Gordon played 2.4 minutes together.
Their team won that stretch by 1 point.
Brown, Pickett, Watson, Valanciunas, and Hardaway played 2.1 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 4 points.
Murray, Nnaji, Watson, Hardaway, and Gordon played 1.9 minutes together.
Their team won that stretch by 4 points.
Brown, Nnaji, Watson, Jones, and Hardaway played 1.8 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 6 points.
Brown, Pickett, Valanciunas, Hardaway, and Gordon played 1.1 minutes together.
Their team tied that stretch.

Washington Wizards

Champagnie, Sarr, Carrington, Johnson, and Riley played 3.2 minutes together.
Their team won that stretch by 2 points.
Champagnie, Sarr, George, Johnson, and Riley played 3.2 minutes together.
Their team won that stretch by 3 points.
Gill, Carrington, Watkins, Riley, and Middleton played 2.9 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 3 points.
Gill, Carrington, George, Watkins, and Middleton played 2.1 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 2 points.
Gill, Champagnie, George, Watkins, and Riley played 1.7 minutes together.
Their team won that stretch by 6 points.
Champagnie, Sarr, Carrington, George, and Johnson played 1.5 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 2 points.
Champagnie, Sarr, Carrington, Johnson, and Middleton played 1.4 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 7 points.
Champagnie, Sarr, Carrington, Watkins, and Middleton played 1.3 minutes together.
Their team won that stretch by 2 points.

▸See where these figures come from

The lineups come from the NBA's official rotation: who was on the floor and when. Each lineup's plus-minus is worked out from every player's stints and is only shown when they all add up with each other and with the final score.

Peyton Watson covered 4.94 km, more than anyone in the game.

Peyton Watson touched the ball 86 times, a game high.
Alex Sarr made 56 passes, a game high.
Alex Sarr defended 11 shots at the rim, a game high, and opponents made 7.
Jonas Valanciunas had 21 rebound chances, a game high.

▸See what was measured for each player

Denver Nuggets

Player	km	km/h	Touches	Passes
Peyton Watson	4.94	6.9	86	54
Jamal Murray	4.31	6.7	76	51
Jalen Pickett	3.91	6.7	53	44
Aaron Gordon	3.77	6.3	57	43
Spencer Jones	3.56	7.0	18	16
Jonas Valanciunas	2.48	6.3	46	29
Tim Hardaway Jr.	2.40	6.8	24	14
Bruce Brown	2.20	6.8	28	18
Zeke Nnaji	1.27	7.1	12	9

Washington Wizards

Player	km	km/h	Touches	Passes
Bub Carrington	4.65	6.9	70	50
Alex Sarr	4.28	6.5	72	56
Kyshawn George	4.23	6.9	68	42
Tre Johnson	4.20	6.9	35	18
Khris Middleton	3.23	6.5	30

How far does Peyton Watson run per game?

The figures come from the NBA's optical tracking (NBA.com) for this game; speed is each player's average while on the floor.

Who guarded whom

Bub Carrington guarded Jamal Murray for 7.9 minutes, over 37 possessions.
In that time, Jamal Murray scored 5 points and made 1 of 4 shots.
Alex Sarr guarded Jonas Valanciunas for 7.7 minutes, over 31 possessions.
In that time, Jonas Valanciunas scored 12 points and made 6 of 12 shots.
Tre Johnson guarded Jalen Pickett for 6.6 minutes, over 26 possessions.
In that time, Jalen Pickett scored 2 points and made 0 of 3 shots.

▸See all 21 matchups of two minutes or more

Denver Nuggets defending

Defender	Attacker	Min	Poss	Pts (FG)
Watson	George	5.2	28	7 (2/6)
Valanciunas	Sarr	5.1	26	7 (2/6)
Murray	Carrington	4.4	25	6 (2/5)
Pickett	Johnson	4.2	22	4 (2/6)
Gordon	Sarr	3.6	19	2 (0/2)
Gordon	Middleton	3.4	19	0 (0/1)
Hardaway	Johnson	2.5	11	5 (2/2)
Watson	Carrington	2.2	11	0 (0/2)
Murray	Middleton	2.0	10	4 (2/6)

Washington Wizards defending

Defender	Attacker	Min	Poss	Pts (FG)
Carrington	Murray	7.9	37	5 (1/4)
Sarr	Valanciunas	7.7	31	12 (6/12)
Johnson	Pickett	6.6	26	2 (0/3)
George	Watson	5.4	23	6 (2/4)
Middleton	Gordon	4.5	18	5 (2/3)

Matchups come from the NBA's tracking (NBA.com) for this game: how long each defender guarded each attacker and what the attacker produced in that time. Only matchups of two minutes or more are shown.

Who stood out on defense during the season

These figures cover the whole 2025-26 regular season, not this game.

Denver Nuggets

Tim Hardaway Jr. drew 0.09 charges per game over his 79 games.
He ranks 31 of 399 in the league.
Peyton Watson recovered 0.7 loose balls per game over his 54 games.
He ranks 38 of 399 in the league.
Spencer Jones drew 0.06 charges per game over his 63 games.
He ranks 56 of 399 in the league.

Washington Wizards

Alex Sarr contested 9.4 shots per game over his 48 games.
He ranks 8 of 399 in the league.
Kyshawn George drew 0.13 charges per game over his 48 games.
He ranks 18 of 399 in the league.
Khris Middleton drew 0.08 charges per game over his 62 games.
He ranks 36 of 399 in the league.

Hustle figures come from the hustle stats the NBA publishes (NBA.com) and rim defense comes from its tracking; both cover the regular season. For each player in this game we show the figure that ranks him highest in the league, and for each team, the three best ranked. Ranks count players with at least 30 games and, at the rim, at least 4 defended shots per game.

The Washington Wizards have won 43 of their 104 games against the Denver Nuggets.

43-61record of the Washington Wizards · NBA 1976-77 – 2025-26, regular season and playoffs

0-2in 2025-26

See the full head-to-head in the Analyst

See where it comes from

Official NBA box scores, regular season and playoffs, 1976-77 – 2025-26. It counts every game between the two teams that the house holds, this one included.

SportiveWorld knows much more about this game

Game context

Attendance

15.040

74% of capacity

Capital One Arena · Washington

Scoring

204

combined points

27.2 below the season average (231.2)