The Denver Nuggets closed out their game against the Houston Rockets 128-125, riding on a monster 42-point performance from Nikola Jokic. It came after a failed three-point attempt from Alperen Sengun, who finished with a 33-point triple-double and was guarded by Bruce Brown on the final possession.
Brown revealed his antics after the game, claiming that he played Sengun mentally on the final shot.
Bruce Brown on last Sengun 3: "It was inside the 3, so I was letting him go (toward the rim). And then he bounced out to the 3. He knew we were gonna foul, so he was trying to bait the foul, and I just let him shoot it. He was off-balance. He wasn't even trying to make the shot." https://t.co/fpEOhAINC6
— Bennett Durando (@BennettDurando) December 16, 2025
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“It was inside the 3, so I was letting him go (toward the rim). And then he bounced out to the 3. He knew we were gonna foul, so he was trying to bait the foul, and I just let him shoot it. He was off-balance. He wasn't even trying to make the shot,” he said, per a post on X by Bennett Durando.
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The defining moment came in the final seconds of overtime, with Denver clinging to a three-point lead and Sengun rising for a contested three from well beyond the arc. Brown, reading the situation in real time, resisted the instinct to overplay, bait, or foul, choosing instead to trust the imbalance he saw.
The miss sealed Denver’s fifth straight win. Further, the Nuggets head coach David Adelman revealed that he had instructed his team to foul Sengun on the final possession, with Brown failing to follow instructions but it turning out well for the Nuggets.
The game till then was a major duel between the likes of Jokic and Sengun, each orchestrating their offense. Sengun was equally helped by Kevin Durant, who extended his impressive recent form with a statline of 25 points, seven assists and five rebounds. For the Nuggets, Jamal Murray also had a commanding game, finishing with 35 points, five assists and three rebounds.
Regardless, despite the offensive brilliance on display, the game came down to a high-IQ moment from none other than Brown, who finished with