On Tuesday night, the Denver Nuggets put in another solid performance sans Nikola Jokic, taking a hard-earned 120-116 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on the road. They did so in front of a visiting friendly face in Michael Porter Jr., who was in attendance in Smoothie King Center to support his former team with the Brooklyn Nets, his current employer, set to face the Pelicans on Wednesday night.
The Nuggets know that every win amid Jokic's injury is so important, and one player who's been performing incredibly well as of late with the increased opportunity is third-year forward Peyton Watson. Watson has broken out in a primary scoring role, and on Tuesday, he scored 31 points and added seven rebounds and five assists as he fully fleshes out his game.
And there may not be a man in attendance at Smoothie King Center on Tuesday who was more proud of Watson than his former teammate in Porter. The Nets forward showed Watson some love following the Nuggets' win, with Porter presumably being so proud of how the 23-year-old forward has blossomed from an energy and hustle guy off the bench all the way to a legitimate scoring weapon.
"That's my dog."
Following his impressive 31-point performance, Peyton Watson was hyped up to greet his pal, Michael Porter Jr., who was in attendance cheering his former teammate on 💪 pic.twitter.com/ep2OqIHreN
— NBA (@NBA) January 14, 2026
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Nuggets have a good problem to navigate amid Peyton Watson's breakout
Denver Nuggets guard Peyton Watson (8) before the game against the Houston Rockets at Ball Arena.
Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
Watson playing this well has elevated him into must-keep status for the Nuggets moving forward. Alas, their cap sheet is about to get very clogged really soon, with Christian Braun's five-year, $125 million extension set to kick in at the start of next season.
The Nuggets have some difficult decisions to make moving forward, as Watson is headed for restricted free agency this offseason. He's been much better than both Braun and Cam Johnson this season, so he deserves a huge payday. The question, however, is do the Nuggets have space to pay up what it would take to get him to sign on the dotted line?