The Nuggets' loss to the Warriors came with a silver lining

You had to squint really hard to see it, through the irregular plus-minus numbers posted by the Nuggets’ stalwart starting five in that unit’s worst performance in two seasons and past Denver’s 20-point first quarter and collective sub-40 percent shooting night. But there was a silver lining in the Nuggets’ fourth loss in five games.

Denver’s bench — the thorn in the Nuggets’ side during their recent three-game losing streak — played its best stretch of basketball since the All-Star break.

After Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, Will Barton, Paul Millsap and Nikola Jokic put the Nuggets in a 20-6 hole, a deficit that caused Michael Malone to burn two timeouts five minutes and 42 seconds into the first quarter, Denver’s bench found some life. Isaiah Thomas, Monte Morris, Malik Beasley, Torrey Craig and Mason Plumlee outscored the Warriors 14-10 to end the first quarter and then got even with Golden State midway through the second. After the game was handed back over to Denver’s first five with around five minutes remaining in the period, the Warriors eventually stretched their lead out to 17-points by halftime.

Friday’s first-half role reversal between the Nuggets’ first and second units was remarkable based on how Denver’s last stretch of games had transpired. Since reinstating Paul Millsap and then Gary Harris to their starting lineup in a 120-112 loss to the Pelicans four games ago, Denver’s first five had flourished. Picking up right where they left off following the Nuggets’ second game of the regular season — the last time before the Pelicans’ loss that the Murray-Harris-Barton-Millsap-Jokic five had begun a game together — Denver’s starting lineup outscored their opponent by 45 points in 69 minutes of action while posting a sparkling 125.9 Offensive Rating, a 94.2 Defensive Rating and a 31.7 Net Rating over a three-game span.

While the Nuggets’ starters were for the most part shining, Denver’s bench kept sputtering. Since inserting Thomas into its second unit, the Nuggets’ bench had struggled to keep the leads that its starters presented them with. Against New Orleans, Denver led by as many as 19 points early in the second quarter before the Pelicans whittled the Nuggets’ advantage down to 13 midway through the period. Last week in L.A., the Nuggets led the Lakers by 16 points midway through the third but saw their lead trimmed to as few as two early in the fourth before an 11-point spurt from Harris saved Denver from a road loss that would have been hard to stomach.

Terms like “over-dribbling,” and “stagnant” offense, two descriptors that you would never have used to describe the Nuggets’ bench offense throughout a season where the second unit had mimicked the free-flowing, equal-opportunity attack that Denver’s starters had excelled with, were attached to the bench. But after the Nuggets’ starters shot just 14-31 (34 percent) from the field against the Lakers and were outscored by their bench 58-47, Malone said his first five were the ones who struggled to move the ball.

“I thought that starting group was really selfish at times tonight,” Malone said.

So what was different for the bench this time around? First off, they got back to the selfless offensive basketball that has been a staple in Denver this season. The Nuggets’ point-five mentality — an old Gregg Popovich philosophy where players are only allowed to hold the ball for a half-second before they must shoot, pass, or attack the rim and has made its way into Denver’s offensive creed — was back on display. The Nuggets’ bench cut, screened and moved to open space with a purpose. They also played with pace, both in the half court and transition.

Most importantly, Thomas looked the best he had since his first or second game in a Nuggets uniform. It wasn’t a perfect night by Denver’s reserve point guard by any means, but Thomas fit in with the Nuggets’ second unit against the Warriors more than he had over the last few games. With Thomas, Denver’s bench functions better if you’re not noticing him within the ebbs and flows of the Nuggets’ offense, which was the case for much of Friday’s matchup. He fit in as well as he has during his Denver tenure, finishing with just five points on 2-6 shooting but handing out three assists — the second-most he’s tallied in a Nuggets’ uniform. In 15 minutes, Thomas was a team-high plus-nine. He still had two turnovers, still had moments where the rust from 11 months away from the court showed but made a number of winning plays within the flow of the Nuggets’ attack.

Whether the Nuggets’ second unit can carry its performance against the Warriors into Denver’s final 17 games remains to be seen. The Warriors’ bench is stocked with players like Alfonzo McKinnie and Jonas Jerebko, who couldn’t get consistent minutes if they played in Denver, but many of the baskets that the Nuggets’ bench scored in the second and fourth quarters came with Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, DeMarcus Cousins and Shaun Livingston on the floor. It was a step in the right direction.

The Nuggets have three tasks over the last four weeks of the regular season: stay healthy, try and get their heavy hitters like Jokic and Millsap, who have both logged a lot of minutes over the last few months, some rest when they can, and determine if they can field a reliable second unit that involves Thomas.

If Malone and the Nuggets did crack the code with the Thomas-Morris-Beasley-Craig-Plumlee lineup that outscored the Warriors 38-28 in 14 minutes of action, shot 12-23 from the field, 5-10 from three and limited the Warriors to 42 percent shooting and forced Golden State into six turnovers, then great.

It’s one less thing that the Nuggets have to worry about over their final month-long stretch run.