Peyton Watson shows Michael Porter Jr. some love after a 31-point night
On Tuesday evening, Denver Nuggets turned in another solid performance without Nikola Jokic, picking up a hard-earned victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on the road, 120-116. They did that before a guest appearance by a friendly face in Michael Porter Jr.who was at the Smoothie King Center to support his former team with the Brooklyn Nets, his current employer, who will face the Pelicans on Wednesday night.
The Nuggets know that every win is so important because of Jokic’s injury, and one player who has played incredibly well lately with an increased opportunity is third-year forward Peyton Watson. Watson has broken into a primary scoring role, and on Tuesday he scored 31 points and added seven rebounds and five assists as he showed his full game.
And there may not be a man in the Smoothie King Center Tuesday who was more proud of Watson than of his former teammate in Porter. The Nets forward motioned to Watson some love after the Nuggets’ win, with Porter likely so proud of how the 23-year-old forward has blossomed from an energetic and hustling guy off the bench all the way to a legitimate scoring weapon.
“That’s my dog.”
After his impressive 31-point performance, Peyton Watson was thrilled to greet his friend, Michael Porter Jr., who was in attendance to cheer on his former teammate 💪 pic.twitter.com/ep2OkIHreN
— NBA (@NBA) January 14, 2026
The Nuggets have a good problem to deal with in the middle of the Peyton Watson breakout
Playing Watson this well has elevated him to a must-maintain status for the Nuggets moving forward. Alas, their cap list is about to get heavily clogged, with Christian Brown’s five-year, $125 million extension set to kick in at the start of next season.
The Nuggets have some tough decisions to make moving forward as Watson heads into restricted free agency this offseason. He has been much better than both Brown and Cam Johnson this season, so he deserves a big payday. The question is, however do the Nuggets have the cap space to pay what would it take for him to sign on the dotted line?
2026-01-14 05:45:00
