DENVER – The Denver Nuggets came into the matchup with the Brooklyn Nets looking to win their ninth game in the last 11 games at Pepsi Center. Denver ended up finding their groove and beat the Nets 129-109.
The first quarter started as a hangover from the loss to the Sacramento Kings. Denver’s offense was primarily isolation basketball while Nikola Jokic picked up two quick fouls in the first frame and finished with just two points, five rebounds, but made his presence felt with seven assists. Mason Plumlee came in and showed the exact reason why the Nuggets traded for him.
Plumlee had four points, six rebounds, and four assists in the first quarter alone and helped the Nuggets push their lead to five points by the end of the 1st quarter to the tune of 30-25.
“He was unbelievable tonight. This is the Mason Plumlee that we envisioned. What I love about Mason is that he was so disappointed in his performance last night that he told one of our coaches that he was going to be much better tonight and he was,” Malone said. “Not just on offense but on defense. He was communicating and being in the right places. If you go for 12 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 assists, guys love playing with him. He can set a great screen and gets guys open and he is able to score in the post. It was really fun to watch.”
Gary Harris continued his inspired play of late and had ten first quarter points and was the main beneficiaries of Plumlee’s productive play. Without much playing time for Jokic, the Nuggets were able to go into the second quarter with momentum on their side but both Plumlee and Jokic had two fouls each.
Denver began to rediscover their offensive fervor in the second quarter and Jokic began to assert himself into the offense and the points began racking up. The ball stopped sticking and the movement began to open up a plethora of great looks. Plumlee and Jokic combined for 10 assists in the first half while Wilson Chandler led the team in scoring with 11 first half points on 12 shots. Chandler finished with 24 points and three rebounds. Three Nuggets were in double-digit scoring as Denver went into halftime up 64-53 over Brooklyn.
“Having a guy like Plumlee allows us to play the same way,” Malone said. “We had 32 assists tonight on 49 field goals. Nikola gets seven and Plumlee gets eight and that is from your center position. That is one thing that excited Tim Connelly and myself was how versatile that Mason is. He can play with Nikola or without Nikola. Guys like to play with him because he is unselfish, he sets great screens, and he rolls.”
The Nuggets did what they could to put away the Nets early in the third quarter behind three-point shooting and the scoring of Harris, who finished with 25 points on 15 shots while going 4-6 from three-point distance. Denver extended their lead out to 27 points and started to force the Nets to play a faster brand of basketball. Denver locked in on defense and was running on every opportunity they had and it let to the Nuggets offense getting back on track.
“Gary has played very well for us and has been very consistent with shooting the ball and shooting it with confidence but what I like about him is that he doesn’t just settle for jump shots; he attacks,” Malone explained after the win. “He is a downhill driver and he gets to the cup. I think he gets fouled at times when he is maybe not getting the call but he is not a one dimensional player. He is a guy who can shoot the three and get downhill. I think Nikola loves playing with him, cause that is one of his favorite targets, because Gary is in constant motion.”
Denver eventually went into the final frame up 26 points with a sore of 101-75 and was back to playing explosive basketball once again but this time it was without much Jokic, who picked up his fourth foul of the game halfway through the third quarter.
“We have to keep him out of foul trouble. That is the biggest thing,” Malone exclaimed. “He can’t afford to take those early silly fouls in transition. Other guys can do that but not him. He is too important for us. As we move forward with 25 games left now I need to be able to play him 30-32 minutes a night.”
The fourth quarter was a mere formality as Denver ran away with their ninth victory in their last 11 home games. Plumlee did his best to secure a triple-double and finished just shy with 12 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists. Brook Lopez paced the Nets with 17 points and three assists but ultimately Brooklyn left Denver with their 15th straight loss.
Quote of the night
“The fans were fantastic tonight. They started the “Let’s Go Nuggets” chant which is always nice to hear and we’re going to need that moving forward,” Malone said. “If we want to be a playoff team then we will need to win at home and our fans can really help us with that. That is my message to our fans: we are playing better at home and we play a very exciting style of basketball. Come on out, and if you are not a Nuggets fan right now, give us a chance. I think that if you come to a couple games you will go home a Nuggets fan. We will need that down the stretch because we need this to be a very tough place to play.”
Postgame Video
Malone pregame
Malone postgame
Plumlee postgame
Footnotes
Emmanuel Mudiay almost had his second straight DNP-CD before coming in with four minutes remaining and looks to be out of the rotation for the time being. Malone did say that he was sticking with Murray as the backup point guard, so look for this trend to continue.
Murray finished with nine points, two rebounds, and one assist.
Jokic took, and made, just one shot tonight and played just 14 minutes. While that could be looked at as a negative it is worth noting that he has been vocal about being tired. Accumulating seven assists in 14 minutes and then allowed to rest looks to be needed and could benefit him in the long-term.
Kenneth Faried left the game with back spasms and did not return.
What’s next
The Nuggets stay at home and host the Memphis Grizzlies Sunday for a 3 pm matinee.
