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On Saturday at Staples Center in an absolute must-win game, the Denver Nuggets (45-35) moved into a tie for the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference and eliminated the L.A. Clippers from the playoff race with a 134-115 rout. Nuggets swingman Will Barton played a huge role in that victory with his 31-point effort on an impressive 11-of-15 shooting from the field.
After the game, Barton opened up to Nuggets writer Harrison Wind of BSN Denver about his confidence lately as a complete player who is able to shoot efficiently. Once his jumper starts to fall like it did on Saturday afternoon, people had better look out.
“I feel like it’s over with. Because everyone knows I want to get to the rim, I can finish at the rim, and I can make plays for others,” Barton said, who also shot 5-of-9 from behind the arc. “So once the jumper's on, you’ve got to respect that and now you’ve got to respect my whole game.”
Barton also got a huge game out of rising star center Nikola Jokic, who had a triple-double performance with 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the floor, 11 rebounds, 11 assists, two steals and one blocked shot in 34 minutes of action.
The Nuggets, who are tied with the Minnesota Timberwolves at the moment, have one more home game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday before they travel to take on the Wolves at Target Center in the regular season finale.
The Wolves, who play the lowly Memphis Grizzlies at home on Monday, could very well be hosting a game against the Nuggets that will determine who goes to the postseason and whose season is over.
