Don’t be fooled by the lopsided nature of Saturday’s win. Baked inside of Nikola Jokic’s ho-hum triple-double and Jamal Murray’s game-high 26 points, were the seeds of a fledgling Big 3 with emerging force Michael Porter Jr. Denver’s budding trio combined for 65 points, 23 rebounds and 18 assists as the Nuggets pummeled an overwhelmed Thunder squad. “When we have a game like this, when everybody’s sharing the ball, it’s so easy to do whatever,” Jokic said when asked about his growing chemistry with Porter. “This game needs to show us how we can play.” Jokic either assisted or screened on five of Porter’s seven made shots Saturday. On another, he played hot potato with Murray, who eventually gave the ball back to Porter for a wide-open 3-point make. “It was just fun basketball,” Porter said. Asked whether those plays were an indication of the growing chemistry between the trio, Porter gave a quick retort. “It better, we better figure it out,” he said with a smile. “ … That play where I just hit Joker, he knew immediately I was going to come back off for that shot and he screened it for me. Plays like that, that’s just chemistry plays that happen with time. Those aren’t play calls.” Even if the interplay between Porter and Murray is still a work in progress, the respect is there. When Jokic flung an outlet pass midway through the first quarter that found Porter open for 3, Murray’s arms shot up in the air, like a ref signaling a made field goal. Publicly, even when Porter was struggling with his shot through most of February, Murray was always the most vocal in supporting him. As lethal as Jokic and Murray have proven to be, both know Porter has the potential to significantly elevate the team’s ceiling. It’s their responsibilities to help coax him along. Saturday was Porter’s third consecutive double-double, which also included 10 3-pointers during that span. After the game, Nuggets coach Michael Malone lauded his growth. “What I love about ...
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Nuggets crush Thunder behind Nikola Jokic’s triple-double, Michael Porter Jr.’s shooting
At their peak, the Nuggets have devastating potential. Against the Thunder on Saturday night, they unleashed everything in their arsenal. Behind Nikola Jokic’s eighth triple-double of the season, the Nuggets blistered the Thunder 126-96 to improve to 18-15 on the season. Now 9-8 on the road, the Nuggets will take their traveling party to Chicago on Monday for the second stop of a four-game road trip. “I felt tonight was like Denver Nugget basketball,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “The ball was moving, bodies were moving. We played for each other, and I talked to our team about that this morning. We have to get back to being a team that is hard to guard.” It all began with Jokic, who carved apart Oklahoma City’s rebuilding roster, registering 19 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds. Jokic’s vision controlled the game. It also set the tone for Denver’s 30 assists on the evening. “I don’t know, do I dominate with (my passing)?” Jokic said. “The word dominate, a couple people really dominate the game. … Do I dominate with the passing? I don’t think so.” Despite his humility, the rest of the NBA would strongly disagree. He was flanked by Jamal Murry, whose 26 points were a team-high, and Michael Porter Jr., who logged his third consecutive double-double. Porter finished with 20 points, five 3-pointers and 10 rebounds. All five starters finished with a plus/minus of at least +27. And the rout was so thorough, it even allowed Nuggets rookie Greg Whittington to make his NBA debut. The Nuggets were merciless in the third quarter. Rather than relent, settling for long jumpers that could potentially leave the door open for a Thunder comeback, Denver continued attacking. Their offense, revolving around Jokic, hummed with cuts and movement. If it wasn’t Jokic and Murray’s patented two-man game, then it was Denver’s sensational centerpiece finding creases in the Thunder defense that no one else could see. With nine points and four assists in the quarter ...
Facu Campazzo misses 3-pointer at the buzzer, Nuggets fall to Wizards again
For the second time in eight days, the Wizards left the Nuggets disgusted. Down two points with five seconds remaining, the Nuggets had a 3-on-1 break, which, at minimum, should’ve tied the game. As Jamal Murray bolted down the left side of the court, Michael Porter Jr. and Facu Campazzo fanned out to the 3-point line instead of sinking toward the hoop for an easy layup. The result? An errant Campazzo 3-pointer at the buzzer, which gave the Wizards a dramatic 112-110 win. “Four-on-one, somebody should go to the rim,” Murray said. “I thought Mike was going to the rim. … I should’ve shot it. I gave Facu a bad pass. … That’s why I put it on me. If I’m going to stop at the three, I gotta shoot it.” Unsurprisingly, Nuggets coach Michael Malone saw the play as a wasted opportunity. “We had a layup,” Malone said. “It’s a 3-on-1 break. All Michael Porter’s gotta do is cut to the basket. All Jamal Murray’s gotta do is push the ball and attack, but we didn’t get that.” Added Porter: “I looked at the play afterwards. One of us could’ve easily cut. … We were just thinking, one of us is going to get a three. And if the shot goes in, no one’s talking about it.” Instead, the Wizards escaped Ball Arena with another heart-pounding win after beating Denver in Washington last week. The loss dropped the Nuggets to 17-15 with a four-game road trip, beginning Saturday in Oklahoma City, awaiting. Murray had 13 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter, and Nikola Jokic added 24. Starting at power forward again, Porter Jr. registered 18 points and 10 rebounds. But the Nuggets, once again, suffered from self-inflicted errors. The Wizards scored 23 points off 18 Nuggets turnovers. In the second half, Washington owned the glass with 22 rebounds and 12 second-chance points. Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook combined for 49 points in the win. Both offenses cooked in the third quarter, though each team found vastly different methods to pay-dirt. Jokic and Murray each ...
“The layup was there”: Inside the Nuggets’ late-game disaster vs. the Wizards
Jamal Murray only deserved partial blame for the broken play that cost the Nuggets, at minimum, an overtime session against the Washington Wizards on Thursday night. Down 112-110 with six seconds remaining, Nikola Jokic tapped a defensive rebound into the eager hands of Murray. Of the first five players to cross halfcourt, four were Nuggets. The lone Wizard, Bradley Beal, pulled up near the 3-point line and committed to Murray, leaving both Michael Porter Jr. and Facu Campazzo unattended. Murray said he expected Porter to cut to the hoop for what would’ve been an uncontested layup sending the game into overtime. But when he didn’t, and instead sunk to the far corner despite no one being in the paint, that removed Denver’s easiest path to a bucket. “There should’ve definitely been a cut to the rim,” Porter said. “At the beginning, we all just were thinking, get behind the 3-point line. Let’s win it and go home.” Though Porter conceded that, with the benefit of hindsight, he’d have taken a layup, he explained why his first instinct was to head to the corner. “Another thing in basketball is the first person out in transition, run to the corner,” he said. “And that’s what we teach. You usually run to the corner. … Usually, when you’re running in transition, you’re thinking, ‘Man, get to that corner for that three.’” But the circumstance – down two, only seconds left, the lone defender already attached – should’ve mandated Porter dart to the hoop. When it didn’t happen, that left Murray with two options. He could’ve shot before Beal closed on him – a decision he said he regretted not making – or sent a pass careening toward Campazzo. “When I’m bringing the ball up, I have to either shoot the ball, or hit Mike, who I thought was going to the rim,” Murray said. “But I didn’t shoot it, so that’s why I put this game on me. … I just talked to coach though. I’ll shoot next time.” Though Murray took the blame for the sequence, shooting probably wasn’t the ...
Kiszla vs. Singer: Are the Nuggets in danger of falling into the NBA’s play-in tournament?
Kiz: As the Nuggets scuffle toward the NBA all-star break with a record barely above .500, point guard Jamal Murray tells us he’s not stressing. But is it OK if I’m a little jittery? Yes, Denver has dealt with more than its share of injuries, making it difficult to establish chemistry. But is there something more amiss with the Nuggets than bad luck? And shouldn’t a team that regards itself as a championship contender now be worried about being relegated to the crap shoot of a 7-10 play-in tourney? Singer: They should be anxious sitting in seventh place, though with nearly 40 games to go, you’ll get absolutely no one to admit that. What’s become apparent to me, is given the compressed nature of the schedule, each team is simply trying to keep its head above water. Any reflection or self-assessment is going to have to wait until the break. The schedule is just too insane, with maybe one practice allotted per month. What would bother me the most if I was coach Michael Malone would be the inconsistent swings from month to month. In January, the Nuggets were the 8th-best rebounding team and had the 10th-best defense. In February, their rebounding dropped to 28th, while their defense ranked 17th in the league. Kiz: Here’s what I don’t get. Where did the Nuggets’ homecourt advantage go? Yes, Nikola Jokic and teammates miss the energy brought by the fans, which have been barred from Ball Arena due to COVID-19 precautions. But shouldn’t the thin air of playing 5,280 feet above sea level be an unwavering, reliable advantage working in Denver’s favor? The Nuggets are 9-7 at home. Compare that to Philadelphia (14-3) at home) and Utah (15-2), the current teams atop each conference. So what is the Nuggets’ excuse? Singer: Were the fans more responsible for Denver’s homecourt advantage than anyone thought? Here’s an interesting number: The Nuggets are tied for first in the NBA in points (31.4) in the first quarter of games. That includes home and away. So maybe that ...
