Oct 11, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon (32) finishes off a basket in the first quarter against the Chicago Bulls at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
Nikola Jokić, Aaron Gordon, and Cam Johnson were in full playoff-ready mode during the Nuggets’ third preseason game against the Bulls. Meanwhile, the bench was … not.
It’s still early, though! And there were bright spots like Julian Strawther’s scoring and Alpha Diallo’s 3 steals and 4 rebounds in 14 minutes and Bryce Hopkins continuing to pressure defenses.
But the takeaway from tonight’s game is that Jokić is still a god-tier offensive savant, and Aaron Gordon looks healthier (and better?) than he’s been in three years.
Here’s how it went down at Ball Arena.
1ST QUARTER
The teams traded baskets through the first four minutes of the quarter as the Nuggets seemed disinterested in playing defense. Jokic started off the scoring for Denver with a three then added two more easy makes at the rim to give them a 13-12 lead. Christian Braun and Jamal Murray missed a pair of wide-open threes as the Bulls tied the game. DeMar DeRozan, Tyus Jones, Alpha Diallo, and Julian Strawther got the early run off the bench followed by Zeke Nnaji subbing in for Jokić who left the game with 14 first-quarter points. After a pair of free throws and a jumper from Zeke, the quarter ended with a 29-27 Nuggets’ lead despite being 1-9 from three.
We got our first DeRozan-Jokic high low feed. I imagine we will see a lot of this. pic.twitter.com/ZYPBBZK725
— Adam Mares (@Adam_Mares) October 12, 2026
2ND QUARTER
The Bulls started hot in the second, putting up eight straight to build a six-point lead. Tyus and Julian traded baskets followed by Cam’s first make—and first three—to put a brief end to the bleeding. But the Bulls answered back with a Leonard Miller three, and Okoro’s trey gave the Bulls their biggest lead of the game (48-39). Two more easy baskets for Miller ballooned the advantage to 13. After a timeout, the starters returned but gave up a quick three to Buddy Hield that gave the Bulls a 15-point cushion. Jokić responded with his second touchdown of the half, finding AG in transition who made an athletic (but terrifying) spin move to complete score.
Nikola Jokić with a near-fullcourt dime to Aaron Gordon 🃏
The Joker has 16 PTS and 6 AST at the break in preseason action! pic.twitter.com/qBdomoCPpV
— NBA (@NBA) October 12, 2026
Nikola’s 5th assist found CB under the basket for a gimme, and Cam’s transition three cut the Bulls lead to eight and triggered a coach’s timeout. Jalen Smith went off after the break, hitting two threes and giving the Bulls their double-digit lead back. CJ hit his third triple on three tries thanks to a beautiful Jokic setup. AG’s transition three brought the good guys to within 5 as the starters continued to prove they are one of the best 5-man lineups in the NBA. Caleb Wilson’s prayer at the buzzer went in, sending the Nuggets to the locker room down 9.
3RD QUARTER
Miller started the third still ripping the nets, hitting his third three on three attempts and finding Wilson for a running dunk. Jokić continued diming, finding AG in the corner for his second triple of the game. Miller scored again, matched by a Jok tap-in, The back-and-forth scoring continued as Mal, Cam, and Aaron notched twos, keeping the Nuggets within reach at 78-73. AG’s third trey in four attempts narrowed the Bulls lead to two and gave Mr. Nugget 23 points with 7:02 left in the quarter. Cam’s fourth three on four attempts gave the Nuggets their first lead since the first. Murray’s corner three in transition gave the Joker a triple-double in just 26 minutes as the starters went to the bench for the remainder of the game. After layups/dunks by Tyus, Hopkins, and Diallo, the Nuggets entered the fourth with a 99-94 lead.
Bryce Hopkins with the dunk, Alpha Diallo strips Orlando Robinson, easily blowing by Josh Giddey and dunks it to end the 3rd quarter (with replays).
I think Josh Giddey is one of the worst defenders I've ever seen, getting cooked so often pic.twitter.com/by2aKNaDGU
— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) October 12, 2026
4TH QUARTER
The final quarter started with Strawther and Hawkins swapping two threes each. Caleb Wilson continued to impress with another two buckets from mid-range, but Hopkins matched with four points of his own to protect the Nuggets’ 111-104 lead. The deep bench continued to protect the lead with Holmes, Brazile, and Nembhard scoring twos. DaRon’s three with 3:30 left put Denver up by 5. Nembhard’s second assist found Holmes cutting to the rim for an easy dunk with 1:30 left, but the Bulls responded with a three to cut the lead to one in a highly entertaining preseason game. Hopkins made a drive with under a minute left, drawing free throws and converting one-of-two. After a Williams miss, DaRon sunk two FTs after an immediate foul, and the Nuggets’ held the lead from the line to run out the rest clock.
FINAL SCORE: 133-128
Oct 11, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) during the second half against the Chicago Bulls at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
GAME NOTES:
Aaron Gordon finished with a team-high 25 points (9 of 12 from the field)
Christian Braun and DeMar DeRozan both finished with two points on a combined 1-for-10
Strawther continued to score off the bench with 13 points including 3-of-6 from deep
Jokić is still the BITW