DNVR Player Grades: a costly collapse

Any win down three starters is a great win, and that’s how Sunday’s matchup against the Indiana Pacers was trending through three quarters.

But in the fourth the Nuggets faltered. Indiana outscored Denver 41-26 over the final 12 minutes of regulation and the Pacers came all the way back from a double-digit third-quarter deficit to even score at 91-91 with 6:59 left in the game. From there, the Pacers outscored the Nuggets 24-16, out-rebounded Denver 7-5, grabbed five offensive rebounds, and held Nikola Jokic’s crew to 5 of 12 shooting. The Pacers won 115-107 and ended the Nuggets’ three-game winning streak. After holding Indiana to 15 points in the first quarter, the Pacers tallied 29 points in the second, 30 in the third, and 41 in the deciding fourth.

The loss dropped Denver into a tie with the Utah Jazz for third place in the West at 29-13 overall with a tough three-game road trip (Minnesota, Houston, New Orleans) coming this week.

Let’s go to the grades.

Honor Roll

Nikola Jokic – A

This might be the type of performance the Nuggets need from Jokic going forward if Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, and Paul Millsap remain out of the lineup. Jokic finished with game-high 30 points on 10 of 16 shooting from the field and 2 of 4 from three-point range. Jokic also went 8 of 12 from the free-throw line and registered 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals. He would have had closer to 10 helpers if his teammates knocked in their open 3s.

Denver’s poor three-point shooting was one of the storylines to emerge from Sunday’s loss. As a team, the Nuggets shot just 3 of 23 from beyond the arc and Jokic’s teammates combined to only convert on one three-point attempt, a Torrey Craig triple in the third quarter.

On the season, the Nuggets are 22nd in three-point percentage and 28th in three-point attempts per game. Denver doesn’t make or take a lot of triples, and has a number of players including Murray and Harris, who aren’t playing, and Will Barton who is, that have been up and down from three-point range this season. If Denver acquires a player at the trade deadline you’d have to think it would be some type of three-point threat.

The Class

Will Barton – B+

In the first quarter, Barton combined with Jokic to tally 19 of the Nuggets’ 21 points over the first 12 minutes of action. But Barton fell off from there and missed all four of his triples. He did contribute seven rebounds and five assists.

Jerami Grant – B+

Grant was efficient from the field (6 of 9 shooting) and it seemed like he was trying to play around the basket more both on the offensive end of the floor and the glass. He hauled in five rebounds — up from the 2.6 he’s averaging per game this season — and had a few nice moves on the block.

Mason Plumlee – B

Plumlee had a final two minutes of regulation to forget when he went 1 of 4 from the free-throw line with the Nuggets in desperate need of points, but was solid up until then. He finished with 13 points, two rebounds, and four assists, and has upped his play a bit since Millsap went out of the lineup.

PJ Dozier – B

Dozier plays with the confidence of someone who’s on a multi-million dollar guaranteed contract, not a two-way deal, and his aggressiveness and composure on the court through three games has been obvious. He shot 4 of 9 from the field for eight points to go with three assists in 17 minutes.

Michael Porter Jr. – B

Porter had some interesting insight into Indiana’s defense Sunday compared to how the Pacers guarded him in the two team’s first meeting of the season.

“They knew my plays and they guarded them pretty well, a lot better than the first game,” Porter said. “Plus I missed a couple shots that I would normally make.”

Both were true. The Nuggets have a couple pet sets that they run for Porter, and those plays are obviously high up on any opponent’s scouting report. The rookie also missed some shots that he’s been hitting with regularity as of late. Still, he found a way to contribute even though his shot wasn’t falling. Porter grabbed eight rebounds and recorded two steals. He had some defensive miscues too — as did the rest of Denver’s roster — which probably contributed to him not closing this game.

Principal’s Office

Monte Morris – C

Morris was just 1 of 7 from the field. He dished out five assists but missed a bunch of very makeable looks from two-point land.

Torrey Craig – C

Craig was a part of a Nuggets’ starting lineup which held the Pacers without a point for the first four minutes of regulation. He registered three blocks and four rebounds but was front and center for the Nuggets’ fourth quarter collapse which ended his night on a sour note. His one turnover came midway through the fourth too when Craig rifled a pass intended for Jokic into Denver’s backcourt.

A quick note about the Nuggets’ starting lineup that Malone has gone to for the two games where Denver has been without three starters. The Morris-Barton-Craig-Grant-Jokic five is having a really hard time scoring (88.6 Offensive Rating) and defending (111.8 Defensive Rating). Also, the Nuggets are shooting just 36.8% from the field and have scored only 62 points in 31 minutes over the last two games with that lineup on the floor. It’s important to remember that those numbers can flip quickly if Denver starts that five again in Minnesota Monday and hits some shots right out of the gate, but it’s something to take note of at the least.