Grades: Jokić, Murray, and Porter lead Nuggets to win over Pelicans

Aaron Gordon is officially a Denver Nugget. But first, there was a game to play. The Nuggets fell behind yet again to the New Orleans Pelicans Friday night. Zion Williamson made the game of basketball look remarkably easy. He went to his left and scored with his left time after time. It was not a chess match. It was a game of chicken with a Mack truck. The Nuggets had no answer for him, but they did have Nikola Jokić. The latter put Denver on his back in the fourth quarter and stole the win. Final score: 113-108.

The Big Three scored 85, Porter locked up Ingram, and Will Barton III sealed the win with his defense.

To the grades:

Nikola Jokić – A

The MVP took more field goal attempts in the fourth quarter than any player. He shot 5 of 8 from the floor on his way to a game-high 11 points in the final frame. Jokić didn’t record any assists in the fourth — a rare sight. He entered a scorer’s mentality, taking it right at, over, and around Steven Adams. He clutched up, as he’s known to do. I should probably point out he scored 11 points in the third too. He scored all night — 37 total while adding 9 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block.

Jamal Murray – A

Murray played so well. He was a facilitator, recording 11 assists and turning it over just twice. While Murray can overthink his role, perhaps a key factor in the inconsistency, some of that stems from his willingness to defer. Few players can light it up the way Murray can and resist the temptation to try it every night. By the way, deferential Murray scored 23 points on 10 of 18 from the field.

With just over six minutes remaining and the Nuggets trailing by seven, Murray stripped Zion, ran the floor, and knocked in a layup plus the foul. It was a massive play.

Michael Porter Jr. – A

Porter knocked down five of his six attempts from three on his way to 25 easy points. The jumper was smooth but not the main takeaway. The coaching staff trusted Porter to guard Ingram this time after Barton failed to hold in the previous matchup, and it paid off. Porter’s length bothered him and kept him out of rhythm. The mistakes remain loud. He found himself fully turned around on more than one occasion. But how does that all add up? He was there to contest most shots, and he was a sniper on the other end. The big three carried the Nuggets, and we’re beginning to take Porter’s contributions for granted already. He’s catching up to speed.

Will Barton III – B-

Barton was quiet. The stars were cooking, it wasn’t his night to score, and so he didn’t shoot. He took just three field-goal attempts all night. His box score is quiet, too, except for the block column. Barton blocked three shots — all in the second half — including a team sealing block in the corner, bookended by two free throws to ice the game.

Barton took to Twitter to pay homage and tribute to his friend and co-“founding father” in Denver, Gary Harris.

Aye G$$ not a lot of shot attempts tonight. Didn’t pout, played solid defense & got some stops at the end in crunch time. & was tied with highest plus minus. Learned a lot from you brother. You always played the right way & never complained. You was with me 2night 😂

— Will Barton (@WillTheThrillB5) March 27, 2021

Paul Millsap – B-

Zion ate Millsap’s breakfast, lunch, and dinner Friday night. There was nothing, and I mean nothing Millsap could do to slow him down. But that was the case for anyone in a Nuggets uniform. JaMychal Green? No success. Zeke Nnaji? Welcome to the NBA, kid. So I won’t bury Millsap for his defense. Instead, I’ll point to his 16 points, 7 rebounds (3 OREB), 3 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block. He hit two threes from the right corner, including a game-tying shot with a little over three minutes left to play.

Facundo Campazzo – D+

Campazzo is in a slump, and he’s earned the right to play his way out of it. But even when he’s playing well, his deficiencies are hard to ignore. His height matters, his uncanny motor notwithstanding, and his inability to score is starting to stick out. A significant factor in this is his defense — he hasn’t been playing well on that end lately, and that’s where he makes a lot of his money. We might be more forgiving of the offense if we’d seen that impact recently.

PJ Dozier – D+

Dozier only took six shots, but virtually all of them were ill-advised. Dozier has the potential to fill gaping holes in this roster, but he’s not yet a Jokić-ball player.

JaMychal Green – D+

Green remained out of rhythm and had the pleasure of checking Zion off the bench. It didn’t go well.

Zeke Nnaji – D+

Nnaji knocked down a wide-open three. It looked gorgeous. But he was ultimately thrown to the Wolves in his 3:35 seconds — something, anything to slow down Zion.