Monte Morris steps up in clutch time for Nuggets late push over Thunder

Nuggets point guard Monte Morris had a mostly unremarkable Saturday night at Ball Arena.

That all changed in the final minute against the Thunder.

“He won us the game,” Nikola Jokic told reporters after the Nuggets pulled away for a 113-107 win..

Jamal Murray’s injury absence heightens the need for Morris to close games in the postseason. He proved up to the task against the Thunder. It all happened quickly.

Oklahoma City, with ball possession trailing by two points, had the momentum to erase its 16-point deficit and stun the home crowd. Thunder forward Aleksej Pokusevski made an entry pass to the post off a pick-and-roll. Morris, in help-side defense from the opposite corner, read it to perfection.

The feisty 6-foot-2 point guard left his man, jumped right at Thunder forward Isaiah Roby and poked the ball away, then grabbed the ball.

“One of the key defensive plays of the game,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “Monte does his job and disrupts that play.”

Morris wasn’t done yet.

The Thunder double-teamed Jokic in the corner on Denver’s next offensive possession. It left Morris alone behind the arc. Jokic found him with an overhead dime and Morris buried the 3-pointer with 47 seconds left to squash Oklahoma City’s comeback effort.

“He’s been clutch all year. That’s what he does,” teammate Aaron Gordon said. “He might not be having, to him, his best game. But down the stretch, he’s going to step up and make the big shot.”

Jokic added: “I cannot ask (anything) more from the guy and teammate.”

Morris finished with pedestrian statistics: seven points, five assists, two rebounds and two steals. But his performance in clutch moments is a positive sign with only seven regular-season games left. The Nuggets (44-31) visit the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night.

“I can’t wait until we get guys back,” Morris said last week. “I’m just doing what I can to play my role on this team. I’ve been watching a lot of film on Jokic and Jamal, just how they run the two-man game. I’m just trying to take some pressure off Nikola. Also just trying to show him that he can have confidence in me that I can make those plays and make those big shots.”

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