Five Observations: Nuggets go cold in second half, lose to short-handed 76ers

The Denver Nuggets had an excellent chance to close 2017 out on a high note against a depleted Philadelphia 76ers squad, but cold shooting doomed them in a 107-102 loss. The Nuggets scored 41 points in the second half as they fall to a 76ers team that was missing Joel Embiid. Here are five observations from the game.

1. Ice-cold second half

It’s not often that the Nuggets suffer a cold streak like the one that occurred in the second half of Saturday’s game. The Nuggets entered their final game of 2017 ranked ninth in the NBA in offensive efficiency. For whatever reason, they couldn’t buy a bucket once the second half started against Philly.

Denver shot 11-42 from the field in the third and fourth quarters — an anemic 26.2 percent. Nobody had it going. Nikola Jokic went 3-11 and Jamal Murray 3-12. The rest of the team combined to shoot 5-19.

“At the end of the day, I think what it came down to is we couldn’t make any shots,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “We were two different teams. First half, 61 points … Second half we only scored 41 and shot 27 percent.”

The Nuggets had their chances. Will Barton missed a good look from three-point land with 25 seconds left that would’ve tied it. The shot hit the back of the rim rim — a fitting last-gasp miss in a frustrating loss.

2. Fatigue setting in?

In the last two weeks, Michael Malone shortened up his rotation. Kenneth Faried, Juancho Hernangomez and Emmanuel Mudiay were all cut out of it. The results have mostly been good. Since Dec. 22, Denver’s already earned wins over Portland, Golden State and Utah. But on Saturday, there were signs that fatigue could be setting in.

Only eight players earned minutes against Philadelphia, and only seven of them logged double-digit minutes. Murray, Harris and Jokic all played more than 37 minutes. Afterward, Malone admitted that Denver’s shooting struggles might have been linked to those heavy minutes.

“We’ve had two days since our last game, and one thing we have been very mindful of is making sure we are giving our guys the necessary rest both mentally and physically,” Malone said. “So we had a pretty good two days in between games, but when you see that many guys missing shots you have to wonder if fatigue is a factor.”

3. Hack-a-Plumlee

The 76ers were in the middle of an enormous run in the third quarter when they went to an interesting strategy: the intentional foul. With 2:41 in the period, Amir Johnson grabbed Mason Plumlee on purpose to send him to the line. Plumlee, who entered the game shooting 39.8 percent on free throws, missed both shots. He made one of the six free throws he attempted in the quarter.

“You have to make free throws,” Plumlee said. “That’s inexscusable, and I’m going to make free throws going forward. We missed a lot of easy ones, and that determined the game.”

Teams have tried this hack-a-Shaq strategy on Plumlee before. Malone said that in the future, he’ll have to consider pulling Plumlee out of the game if he’s not hitting from the free-throw line while also voicing frustration that the Pepsi Center crowd reacted so strongly to Plumlee’s struggles at the line.

“Obviously you give him a chance, and if he’s not making shots you have to get him out. It’s as simple as that. I hate the fact that when he makes a free throw, the whole place is going crazy. Mason Plumlee is not trying to miss free throws. I wish our fans would get off his back in that regard.”

4. Transition offense stalls out

The Nuggets are one of the most efficient teams in the NBA when they get out and run. They rank fifth overall in points per possession in transition, according to Cleaning the Glass. Denver never got going on the break versus Philadelphia, though. It had plenty of opportunities in the second half in particular, but the 76ers did an excellent job of snuffing them out.

Denver scored 0.78 points per transition possession Saturday, per Cleaning the Glass — well below the 1.27 points per transition possession it averaged prior to the loss to Philly.

5. Jamal Murray’s huge month

The second half probably didn’t go the way Jamal Murray wanted, but he still played well overall. Murray finished with 31 points on 11-23 shooting, grabbed eight rebounds and handed out three assists — one final strong effort in a monster month.

Murray averaged a team-high 19.1 points in December. After struggling with his outside shot at the beginning of the year, he finally caught fire from beyond the arc, shooting a blistering 46.4 percent from three-point land. Murray raised his three-point average from 25.3 percent to 35.8 percent — roughly 10 percentage points in a 15-game stretch.

Prior to this month, Murray’s talent showed up in flashes. In December, it shined through on a consistent basis.