Trevon Brazile scores a game-high 22 off Denver’s bench, starting with a Jokić alley-oop at the Clippers

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Oct. 14, 2026 — Denver lost its first preseason game in Los Angeles, 122-110 to the Clippers at Intuit Dome. Its rookie forward still had the best night on the floor. Trevon Brazile came off the bench and scored a game-high 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-4 from three, in a team-high 25 minutes.

It took him less than a minute to get going. Brazile checked in for Aaron Gordon with 5:39 left in the first quarter. At 4:53, Nikola Jokić found him for an alley-oop dunk through contact. Seventeen seconds later Brazile hit a 24-foot three off a Jamal Murray pass, and moments later he blocked Darius Garland’s driving layup.

A 14-point third quarter

Brazile’s biggest stretch came after halftime. He opened the third quarter with a 25-foot three and a running layup, both set up by Tyus Jones. Later he jumped a Gradey Dick pass for a steal and finished it with a running dunk, dunked again off a Ryan Nembhard feed, made both free throws on his next trip and closed the scoring with another three from 25 feet. That was 14 points in the quarter. He added a dunk off a Bryce Hopkins assist midway through the fourth.

He also had a block, a steal and two rebounds, with no turnovers and no fouls. The minus-21 next to his name, tied with Cam Whitmore for the worst on the team, is the other side of it. The Clippers outscored Denver 38-26 in the third quarter even though Brazile scored 14 of those 26 points.

‘This isn’t college no more’

During his first week of training camp, before the Nuggets’ preseason opener, Brazile said the jump from Arkansas had matched what he expected.

“This is a whole different league,” he said. “This isn’t college no more, so just gonna be more physical, more competitive.”

He has spent that time learning from Denver’s veterans. He said Gordon, who plays the same power forward spot, has kept him “up to speed” on both ends. He also singled out Cameron Johnson. Brazile said he rode to a golf outing with Johnson and spent the trip asking what his first NBA season was like. Johnson told him to take it a day at a time and warned him about the rookie wall that can hit halfway through the season.

Of Jokić, he was brief. “He’s a wizard,” Brazile said, adding that watching the center’s feel for the game was part of his education. That same Jokić set up the first basket of his night in Inglewood.

Brazile was just as clear about how he plans to stick: “Playing above the rim offensively and defensively, blocking shots, altering shots at the rim, being a big rebounder, knowing my defensive assignments.” He said most of what is new for him is on the defensive end, including getting stops in transition.

Why it matters

The 6-foot-10 forward was the No. 35 pick in June after one season at Missouri and four at Arkansas, and Denver signed him to a four-year standard contract in July. He scored 32 points against Oklahoma City in Summer League and had seven points and two blocks in 20 minutes in the preseason opener against Utah.

The Nuggets do not have much frontcourt depth behind Jokić and Gordon. Marvin Bagley III, Zeke Nnaji and DaRon Holmes II are all fighting for the backup minutes, and a game like this puts Brazile in that mix. Denver plays its preseason finale against the Lakers on Friday, the last chance to make a case before opening night.