A party of nine Nuggets walked out of Philadelphia with a wildly improbable win. Here are three takeaways from Denver’s 125-124 overtime win over the 76ers on Monday at Xfinity Mobile Arena: 1. There’s a new win that is going to live in Nuggets lore for a long time. Back in 2020, the Nugge ts went to Utah and beat the Jazz with seven healthy players, though Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray were two of them. Neither of Denver’s best two players were available for Monday’s game against the 76ers. Nor were the Nuggets’ three other starters on opening night – Christian Braun, Cam Johnson and Aaron Gordon – or top reserves Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jonas Valanciunas. A starting lineup of Jalen Pickett, Bruce Brown, Peyton Watson, Spencer Jones and DaRon Holmes II got it done. The crew executed a smart game plan from David Adelman well enough for another impressive win. Denver switched a lot of things defensively and fought to keep Joel Embiid, who led all scorers with 32 points, away from easy buckets. The Nuggets survived a 50-42 deficit in paint points and a 10-point disparity in points off turnovers by scoring three more points from 3-point range and outscoring Philadelphia by six off of free throws. Mark it down as the most impressive win of David Adelman’s first full season as Denver’s coach after Bruce Brown gave the Nuggets the lead in the final five seconds and Tyrese Maxey’s floater rimmed out at the buzzer. 2. Jalen Pickett picked a perfect time for the best game of his young career. The third-year point guard scored a career-high 29 points, 11 more than his previous high, thanks to a 7-for-11 mark from 3-point range. He also dished out seven assists and five rebounds. The 26-year-old played nearly 42 of the 53 minutes and won his minutes by six points. The highlight of the Nuggets’ night was a couple of step-back 3s from Pickett over Embiid’s outstretched arms. Peyton Watson proved to be a capable second option by scoring 24 points on 7-for-13 shooting. The two combined for 10 of Denver’s 19 turnovers, but they were forced into much larger roles than usual. Watson showcased some high-level shot making in his fourth consecutive game with more than 20 points, and Pickett, who finished his college career at Penn State, produced his best NBA game yet. 3. DaRon Holmes II got the start again, but Adelman made the obvious choice to close with Zeke Nnaji. The rookie’s struggles as a starter continued with two points, one rebound and four assists in 21 minutes of action on Monday, while Nnaji matched his career high with 21 points to go with eight rebounds, two steals and a block – far and away his best game of the season. The sixth-year forward/center went 4 of 5 from 3-point range and led the team in rebounding. He played 32 minutes to the 21 that Holmes played. The Nuggets will be without Jokic and Valanciunas for a few more weeks. Assuming the Nuggets don’t make a move to add another big on a 10-day or standard contract, Nnaji deserves to get the starts moving forward, while Holmes gets more comfortable playing meaningful minutes. ...read more read less