DNVR Player Grades: Nuggets stall out in the Motor City

And just like that the lead was gone.

It took only 8 1/2 second-quarter minutes for the Detroit Pistons to fully erase what was at one point a 21-point first-quarter deficit. From there it was game on.

After the Nuggets hit on 10 of their first 11 field goal attempts and outscored the Pistons 44-30 in the first Detroit countered, outscoring Denver 38-21 over the next 12 minutes and setting up a second half where the two teams traded baskets for much of the final two quarters and overtime period.

Tied at 111 with under 20 seconds remaining in regulation, the Nuggets had a chance get a win and sweep the two-game road trip. But Will Barton’s runner from just inside the foul line missed. In overtime, Denver, who two nights earlier had pieced together its most impressive win of the season of the Eastern Conference-leading Milwaukee Bucks 24 hours after a home victory over the Utah Jazz, ran out of gas. The Pistons outscored the shorthanded Nuggets, who were without Jamal Murray (ankle), Paul Millsap (knee), Mason Plumlee (foot) and Michael Porter Jr. (ankle), 17-12 to win 128-123.

Let’s go to the grades.

Honor Roll

Nikola Jokic – A

This particular Nuggets scribe has watched every game of Jokic’s career but can’t remember too many other performances where the now two-time All-Star was this dominant. Jokic was marvelous against the Pistons, finishing with 39 points (16-23 FG’s, 1-3 3FG’s), 10 rebounds, 11 assists (his 10th triple-double of the season, the third-most in the league this year), three steals and two blocks in 40 minutes. He also finished as a plus-14 in a five-point loss. He made his imprint across every facet of this game with his scoring, playmaking and defense. This current run that Jokic is on — he’s averaging 24.4 points, 10.2 rebounds and 6.8 assists since Jan. 1 — is up there with the most impressive offensive stretches of his career. It makes it even more impressive that he’s done it while Denver has been out two and at times three starters. How many players in the league could carry their team to an 11-6 record (since Jan. 1) under those circumstances? One? Two? Three? It’s not a long list.

Monte Morris – A-

Morris continues to play like one of the NBA’s better backup point guards. He tallied 19 points, seven assists and zero turnovers in Detroit in 39 minutes. But back home in his native Michigan, Morris struggled to shoot the ball, a surprise considering he’s shooting 39% from three-point range on the season, and converted on just two of his seven long-range attempts. Denver could have used one or two more makes from him.

Will Barton – A-

Barton filled up the stat sheet, going for 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists in 37 minutes, but had the biggest miss of the night, a potential game-winning floater on Denver’s final possession of regulation. Coming off a Jokic screen on the left wing, Barton turned the corner and got into the paint. He rose for a runner from around seven-feet away and bricked it. Should he have passed to Jokic, who has three-game winners this season on his resume? He could have, but this was a fine shot. Barton has hit these types of runners all season. It’s the type of look that the play — a screen and roll featuring Jokic and the Nuggets’ lead ball handler, which the Nuggets have run on nearly every game-deciding possession over the last couple of years — is designed to get. This was a great look, and arguably the best one Denver was going to find on this trip. Andre Drummond is in position to recover to Jokic if the ball goes there. You can play the “what if” game, but if Barton’s shot finds the bottom of the net there’s no debate about whether the ball should have gone to Jokic or not.

Malik Beasley – A-

Beasley has scored in double figures in five of his last seven games and gave Denver a good spark once again. He finished with 12 points (5-9 shooting) and four assists but couldn’t find his way onto the floor over the final four minutes of regulations and in overtime. Michael Malone opted for Gary Harris instead, likely for defensive purposes. More on Harris in a second.

The Class

Jerami Grant – B

I had to do a double take when I looked at Grant’s line following this Nuggets’ loss. He logged 45(!) out of a potential 53 minutes. Grant also finished with 14 points, four rebounds and three blocks. He now has 10 blocks over his last two games. As a team, Denver’s defense wasn’t up to par in Detroit, and Grant could have been better on that end.

Torrey Craig – B-

Craig tallied five points and three rebounds in 19 minutes. He sunk one of his two attempts from distance too, a really positive sign for the wing who’s locked himself into somewhat of a substantial role in the Nuggets’ rotation over the last couple of weeks.

P.J. Dozier – C

Dozier’s had two bad turnovers in 13 1/2 minutes but fortunately for him just one turned into points for the Pistons. It wasn’t his best night and Dozier shot 2 of 7 from the field. It was one of those performances that remind you how lucky the Nuggets are to have Morris.

Principal’s Office

Gary Harris – D

Congratulations go out to Harris on the birth of his first child, a baby boy born Thursday morning. Harris was back home in Indiana for the birth and missed the Nuggets’ wins over the Jazz and Bucks and rejoined the team for Sunday’s matchup but failed to make a substantial impact. Harris has been solid defensively this season but has also seen his offense regress, and it’s going on two seasons now where the two-guard has looked out of sorts on that end of the floor. You’d think Harris would have had fresh legs against the Pistons while the undermanned Nuggets slogged through three games in four days, but he didn’t provide much of a spark at all. Harris finished with just three points on 1 of 3 shooting, one rebounds and two turnovers. He was a team-worst minus-17 in 31 minutes. Harris came off the bench and Malone went to him late in the fourth quarter and in overtime, but wasn’t rewarded for that decision. He’s got to get his offensive game figured out and rediscover his shooting stroke before the playoffs.