The ever-dangerous Nikola Jokic’s rest minutes were approaching. So Jamal Murray made the most of the time he had left with his accomplice in crime.

Murray assisted Jokic for game-tying and go-ahead baskets on Denver’s final two possessions of the third quarter, bringing his assist total to nine for the second straight game, and the Nuggets defeated the Trail Blazers 112-103 on Sunday night.

Denver (35-16) swept a two-game weekend series with Portland at Ball Arena, keeping them within half a game of Minnesota and Oklahoma City for the Western Conference’s top spot.

The Nuggets trailed by as many as 14, but Portland still led 84-75 with 4:17 left in the third quarter, as the reigning champions’ frustrations boiled over. Aaron Gordon had just received a technical foul for appealing a no-call while doubling down in pain from a collision to the face. The Blazers were on fire from three-point range, and the Nuggets had been swapping baskets for most of the night after falling behind early.

Then Denver flipped the switch, going on a 16-0 run that lasted into the fourth quarter, while Portland went nearly six minutes without a field goal. After Kentavious Caldwell-Pope hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to 84-79, Murray and Jokic’s two-man game took over. Murray drained his own three, with Jokic assisting. Murray got a challenging rebound on the other end and threw a long outlet pass to Jokic for the game-tying shot in transition. The frame concluded with a pick-and-roll, Murray pocket-passing to an automatic Jokic.

The two-time MVP finished with 29 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists while shooting 12-of-20. Murray nearly missed a triple-double on Friday despite having one of the worst shooting games of his career, finishing with 21 points, 10 assists, and five rebounds. The two combined for three blocks and three thefts.Despite two early three-pointers, Michael Porter Jr. was ineffective on offence, but he did contribute three blocks, five rebounds, and three assists. For the second consecutive game, all five Nuggets starters scored in double figures.

In the fourth quarter, Peyton Watson took over for the second time in as many games. If there was any hope of a Portland comeback, his offence off the bench squashed it. The pseudo-rookie, who was not selected for this year’s Rising Stars Game at All-Star weekend, hit a pair of late threes to reach 10 fourth-quarter points for the second time. He also had a thundering put-back dunk, two steals, and a terrific block against Deandre Ayton.

Jokic and Ayton struggled to contain one other for the majority of the game. The former Phoenix centre scored 27 points on 19 shots to assist Anfernee Simons (26 points), highlighting Denver’s defensive shortcomings, but Jokic won the war with one play: at the top of the key, he shot-faked Ayton into searching the air for the ball before realising Jokic had already blown by for a layup and-one.