DNVR Player Grades: "small victories" in Boston

Michael Malone isn’t one for moral victories, but the Nuggets’ 108-95 loss Friday in Boston came with a big silver lining.

Nikola Jokic, who’s been mired in the worst offensive slumps of his career, scored a season-high 30 points to go with 10 rebounds, four assists, one steal, and two blocks. Jokic shot an efficient 13 of 21 from the field but made only 1 of his 5 three-point attempts. Still, it was his best offensive outing in weeks.

“You can take small victories out of losses,” Malone said after the win. “And i think for us seeing Nikola play the way he did tonight was a small victory for us.”

The rest of the Nuggets couldn’t hold up their end of the bargain however. Jokic’s teammates shot a combined 26 of 73 (35.6%) from the field and as a team, Denver shot a season-worst 16.7% (5 of 30) from 3.

After the loss which dropped the Nuggets’ record to 14-6, Denver’s offense ranks 20th in the league.

The Nuggets couldn’t stop the Celtics’ two wings, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who mowed over a Denver defense which held the offensively-challenged Knicks to 92 points 24 hours earlier. Brown scored 11 of his 21 in the first quarter as Boston led Denver 33-26 after 12 minutes of play. The Nuggets were outscored 20-19 in the second when Denver shot 0 of 7 from 3 in the period which set the theme of poor three-point shooting for the rest of the night. The Nuggets cut the Celtics’ lead to seven early in the third quarter but Boston responded by pushing its advantage back to double-digits. Denver never got back within striking distance as the Celtics remained a perfect 9-0 at home this season.

Jayson Tatum led Boston with 26 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. Kemba Walker tallied 19 points and 3 assists.

Let’s go to the report card.

Honor Roll

Nikola Jokic – A

Jokic is back on our honor roll and this was his best offensive outing since his previous season-high of 27 which Jokic put on the Rockets in the Nuggets’ best win of the season back on Nov. 20. Jokic’s 21 shot attempts were his third-most this season. He did most of his damage from two-point range. Jokic shot only 1 of 5 from 3, lowering his three-point percentage to a career-low 22.1%, but hit 12 of his 16 attempts from within the arc, combining a number of post-ups with a few mid-range jumpers. He was aggressive and looked to go at Enes Kanter and Daniel Theis for much of the night. Don’t dismiss how important it was for Jokic, who was going through the worst offensive stretch of his career, to see the ball go through the net that often.

Michael Porter Jr. – A

The Celtics’ fourth-quarter advantage opened the gates for rookie Michael Porter Jr. to get some fourth-quarter run…significant run that is. Porter logged eight minutes in the fourth and entered the game at 7:57 mark of the period with four Nuggets starters — Jokic, Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, and Paul Millsap — on the floor. On Porter’s first possession he ran back-to-back dribble-hand-offs with Jokic, the second of which resulted in a right-handed reverse layup.

Two minutes he stepped into a three from the left wing. Swish.

At the three-minute mark of the quarter, Porter crashed the offensive glass off a Juancho Hernangomez 3 and scored a tip-in.

Later on, Porter corralled another offensive rebounds and converted a layup. He tallied nine points on 4 of 7 shooting to go with three rebounds. He was a plus-10 in those eight minutes, most of which came against Boston’s regulars.

In between those makes there were misses. Porter got blocked on a dunk attempt which came off another offensive rebound and was well shot on a contested 3 that he shot from the left wing after coming off a dribble-hand-off from Mason Plumlee. He also clanged a mid-range pull-up jumper from 19-feet with 1:37 left in regulation.

Porter’s fourth-quarter in Boston reminded you of the final period the rookie played against the Suns in the preseason. He looked confident and assertive while playing with a longer leash than the one he was afforded while he was a part of the rotation earlier this year. It’s vital for the Nuggets to continue to get Porter minutes, and Michael Malone knows it too. It’s the only way he’ll improve and get comfortable with the speed of the game. If Porter can log minutes alongside Denver’s starters like he did Friday that’s even better. He and Jokic have flashed a budding chemistry in the few minutes they’ve played together this season.

The Class

Monte Morris – B-

There wasn’t much good outside of Jokic and Porter’s nights, but Morris gets the nod here out of a bench unit that was bad again versus the Celtics. Morris, who finished with nine points on 2 of 5 shooting and got to the line six times, two assists, and two turnovers in 14 minutes. Morris was only a minus-3 compared to his second-unit line-mates, Jerami Grant (minus-24 in 18 minutes), Hernangomez (minus-17 in 20 minutes), Plumlee (minus-13 in 17 minutes), and Malik Beasley (minus-7 in 15 minutes) who also shot just 1 of 7 from the field.

Principal’s Office

Jamal Murray – C

Murray was ineffective in Boston, shooting 5 of 14 from the floor for 10 points to go with three assists in 34 minutes. In Brooklyn on Sunday, Murray will look to avenge his season-worst 1 of 11 shooting performance against the Nets in Denver earlier this season.

Will Barton – C

Barton shot 3 of 8 from the field and 0-4 from 3. The Nuggets’ starting small forward has finally cooled off from 3 and Thursday’s 4 of 4 performance from deep against the Knicks was an outlier in what has been a rough stretch for Barton shooting the ball. Including Denver’s win in New York, Barton is six of his last 22 from distance over the last four games.

Paul Millsap – C

Millsap was quiet in Boston, but he didn’t have to log heavy minutes versus the Celitcs. He played just 21 minutes in the loss and the Nuggets have done a good job managing his playing time this season. Millsap is averaging just 25.8 minutes per game this year.