DNVR Player Grades: Nuggets making miracles look routine

Whatever magic the Denver Nuggets had summoned, whatever inspired a heroic push and slew of unlikely victories in the face of legitimate adversity since the start of January, it looked as though it had dried up in the first half of their game with the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night. Before the third quarter was over, the possibility of a 107-100 win for Denver felt far out of reach. But the Nuggets are working miracles into their routine.

Denver was without Will Barton III, Mason Plumlee, and Michael Porter Jr yet again. Nikola Jokić, who was named the Western Conference Player of the Week earlier in the day, looked understandably exhausted. The starters flinched out of the gate and found themselves in an early hole as the Spurs shot uncharacteristically well. San Antonio entered the game ranked 28th in three-pointers made per contest via NBA.com, but they hit seven of nine such attempts in the first quarter alone.

Despite shooting the ball well, the Nuggets trailed by 14 at the half. And the locker room speech didn’t stop the bleeding. That lead ballooned to 23 midway through the third quarter, and the fan base collectively braced for yet another loss to a sub .500 team. But Paul Millsap and Jamal Murray had other plans.

Millsap is under a minutes restriction and only got ten minutes to do his damage in the second half. But that was all he needed to turn the tide. Behind Millsap, the Nuggets slashed the lead down to something much more manageable. Jamal Murray took the reins in the fourth and put on a show reminiscent of his Game 2 heroics. On a bad ankle, and in a significant amount of pain, he dropped 14 points as the Nuggets stormed back to take the lead.

Let’s go to the grades:

Honor Roll

Paul Millsap – A

Dad’s back! Millsap returned to the lineup with an impressive contribution off the bench in the win over Phoenix this weekend, and he was limited to just 19 minutes again on Monday night. But 19 minutes was more than enough to remind us all of his impact. There might not be a more talented basketball player who gets lost in the cracks of our evaluations than Millsap. The Nuggets endured a significant stretch without him yet again this season, and his absence felt under-discussed. Millsap is not a role player, or a glue guy, or a token veteran. He’s far closer to an All-Star level player than he’s given credit for, and his 22 points—including four three-pointers—were essential to this victory.

Jamal Murray – A

I wonder if these are the games Jamal Murray dreamt of as a kid. Not the perfect game from the field, or a clean 60-points on a rival. And not a poster dunk or an ankle-breaking crossover either. Murray must have dreamt of bearing his teeth and gritting it out as he did in the second half on Monday night. Twenty-three of his 26 points came in the final 24 minutes, including 14 in the fourth quarter. Inhibited and in pain for most of the game, Murray told the media afterward that he called his father at the half, unsure if he would even continue. But he adopted the newly coined ‘Murray Mentality’ and pushed through. Yet another gutsy performance for the kid from Kitchener.

Nikola Jokić – A-

Nikola Jokić seemed to fade into the background of this game. It felt a lacking and uninspired effort, as he didn’t look to score and turned the ball over too often in the first half. That’s why I laughed to myself when I checked the final box score and saw he’d turned in yet another honor roll worthy performance. Jokić scored 19 points on only eight shots and recorded 13 assists in 37-plus minutes. He was the lone starter to record a positive +/-.

The Class

Monte Morris – B+

Morris scored 16 points on 6-of-9 from the field and recorded 4 assists in 22 minutes. In Monte we trust once again.

Torrey Craig – B

Craig started in place of Barton III on Monday night, which might have been Malone’s preference, but was also his only choice without Michael Porter Jr. and the recently traded depth pieces. Craig’s checklist in these scenarios is only three bullet points long:

1. Defend
2. Hit Threes
3. Rebound

He was 3-of-6 from the floor with 7 boards. Mission accomplished.

Jordan McRae –  B-

McRae made his Nuggets debut on Monday and more than held his own. In almost 17 minutes, he scored 8 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, recorded 3 assists and did not turn the ball over. We saw his length come into play on the defensive end, particularly in a brief stint at the power forward spot in a super small ball lineup from Malone.

Gary Harris – C-

Harris was 3-of-6 from the floor and 2-of-3 from three-point range, which all things considered feels like it should be worth more than six points. Harris’ shooting has hit rock-bottom. In the brightest timeline, these are the first signs of some return to form. He finished with eight points in nearly 26 minutes.

Principal’s Office

Jerami Grant – D+

Grant started and closed this game in place of Millsap, but he underwhelmed. In almost 30 minutes he was 3-of-7 from the floor for just 8 points.