Pickett's charge: Nuggets upset Sixers in Philly behind third-year guard

Denver got production from young players it will need to depend on all month, from do-it-all two-way player Spencer Jones, the 24-year-old now entrenched as a starter, to 23-year-old Watson, who is averaging a career-high 12.2 points and shooting over 50 percent. When the tired Nuggets had trouble scoring late, they continued to play tough defense against the Sixers — and it was the veteran Sixers who made game-losing mistakes.

Turnovers and gaffes from Joel Embiid hurt Sixers late

The game-winning basket came on a Bruce Brown layup that Joel Embiid blocked after it hit the glass, a clear goaltending violation. The shot may not have been going in, but Embiid's mistake gave the Nuggets the winning margin when Tyrese Maxey missed on the other end.

Embiid may have been tired after playing 40 minutes. He scored 32 points and collected 10 rebounds in the game, but in the fourth quarter and OT, the big man had just six points, three boards — and three turnovers. Meanwhile, fellow high-priced veteran Paul George was relatively invisible, notching just an assist and a rebound in that stretch — and zero points.

In the fourth quarter, it was Maxey, Quentin Grimes and rookie VJ Edgecombe stepping up for 21 of the Sixers' 27 points, not their All-Star veteran teammates. The Nuggets managed to contain Embiid with the much smaller Nnaji (6-foot-10, 240 pounds) and Watson (6-foot-8, 200) and steal a game where Pickett's three-pointer was their only shot of overtime to actually go through the hoop.

The Nuggets still have a rough month ahead of them. Stealing a road win like they did Monday makes it a whole lot easier.