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Five Observations: Murray's swagger, Plumlee's defense help Nuggets blow out Pistons

December 13, 2017

The Denver Nuggets earned a 103-84 win over the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday. Denver never trailed Detroit and improved its road record to 5-10 on the season. Here are five observations from the game.

1. Jamal Murray carried the load

Nikola Jokic and Paul Millsap were sidelined, and Will Barton and Gary Harris were struggling. Given those circumstances, the Nuggets needed someone to step up against the Pistons. Jamal Murray was that someone. The 20-year-old got hot in the third quarter and scored a game-high 28 points.

Murray scored Denver’s first seven points coming out of halftime and wound up with 13 in the third quarter.

He threw down a vicious dunk on Reggie Jackson and celebrated with an exaggerated tongue wag.

pic.twitter.com/svoVR2lVHI

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) December 13, 2017

Murray went 11-19 from the field and 4-8 from behind the three-point line. After some early-season struggles shooting the ball from deep, Murray seems to be discovering his stroke. He’s made 16-30 threes in his last six games and is shooting 53 percent on treys in the month of December.

2. Denver played one of its best defensive games of the season

Nuggets coach Michael Malone nearly blew a gasket when asked about his team’s defensive performance following a loss in New Orleans last week.

“They kicked our ass,” Malone said. “It’s becoming the same story every single night. And until our guys start taking it personal, until our guys start understanding the importance of playing defense and guarding your man 1-on-1, forget playoffs.”

On Tuesday, Malone struck a different tone after the Nuggets limited the Pistons to 84 points.

“When we defend like that, we’re a good team,” Malone said. “We saw that defense in Orlando, and we saw it tonight. I hope it comes with us to Boston.”

It’s easy to see why Malone was pleased with the progress. The Nuggets limited the Pistons to 35.4 percent shooting. Detroit’s starters combined to shoot 10-36 from the field. The Pistons committed 21 turnovers — including 10 in the first quarter — which the Nuggets converted into 22 points.

Denver looked focused and played hard on the defensive end.

3. Trey Lyles and Malik Beasley gave the Nuggets a lift off the bench — again

Trey Lyles and Malik Beasley were forced to wait their turns for rotation minutes. Neither received steady playing time at the start of the season. Now, due to injuries and Denver’s defensive struggles, both young players are getting their chances and taking advantage of it.

Lyles followed his breakout 26-point game against Indiana with a 20-point performance against Detroit. He shot a perfect 7-7 from the field. Lyles knocked down outside shots when they were there. And when Detroit defenders tried to contest his shot, Lyles showed the ability to put the ball on the floor and get to the rim.

Beasley also performed well in a reserve role. He was the first sub off the bench for the third consecutive game. He hit his first three shots and finished with eight points in 24 minutes.

The most important skill Beasley brings to the table is on-ball defense. Beasley spent much of the game guarding Pistons water-bug point guard Ish Smith, and he performed well. Is it crazy to think that Beasley is already Denver’s best perimeter defender? The more games that go by, the more it feels that way.

4. Aggressive Wilson Chandler

At times this season, Wilson Chandler has looked passive on the offensive end. After attempting 13.2 field goals per game in 2016-17, he’s taking only 8.0 shots per game this year. However, the signs suggest he could be breaking out.

Chandler scored 18 points on 6-11 shooting in the win over Detroit. He attacked early on. Those aggressive drives to the rim — such a staple of his game a year ago — are back again.

Chandler’s scored in double figures in each of his last three games. He’s averaging 10.8 field-goal attempts in December — up from 7.1 in October and 7.6 in November.

5. Mason Plumlee dominated the matchup against Andre Drummond

Denver’s starters stomped Detroit’s starters thanks in large part to Mason Plumlee. Plumlee was matched up against Andre Drummond for most of the night and outplayed him.

Drummond took four shots, scored five points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Plumlee scored 10 points on 5-7 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds. Denver outscored Detroit by 29 points in the 29 minutes Plumlee was on the floor. The Pistons got outscored by 29 points in Drummond’s 27 minutes.

With Jokic out, the Pistons appeared to have an advantage at center — at least on paper. But that didn’t translate at all in the game. Credit Plumlee.