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Grades: Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray drop Portland Trail Blazers

February 24, 2021

Both the Denver Nuggets and Portland Trail Blazers entered Tuesday night’s TNT matchup down several key players. The Nuggets held the rest advantage with Portland playing the night prior, and that reared its head in the fourth quarter as Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray slammed the door shut. Denver picked up a much-needed 111-106 win.

Jokić dropped 41, Murray dropped 19 in the fourth, and Michael Porter Jr. never disengaged as his star teammates carried them home.

To the grades:

Nikola Jokić – A+

Jokić missed a couple of shots near the rim he’s typically good for, which was only concerning given his struggles last time out. It had the makings of a slump early, but the Blazers left Enes Kanter alone on an island with Jokić for most of the night. He shot right through to the other side and picked up 41 points along the way. Despite those early misses, he finished 17/32 (53%) from the field and 3/6 from deep. Jokić has taken 27 or more shots five times now in his career. Four of those occurred in the last seven weeks alone.

Down the stretch, it was Jokić and Murray who buried Portland. Their minds melded, and they reached that level we’ve seen in years past. It had yet to manifest in late-game situations this season, and that’s probably the best we’ve seen them play together in the 2020-21 campaign.

Jamal Murray – A-

Murray struggled mightily for three quarters, and it looked as though perhaps the magic dried up. Then the fourth quarter started. Murray dropped 19, tapping back into that zone, briefly returning to the plane of the unguardable. It wasn’t too long ago Murray made a similar effort in DC, dropping 19 on the Wizards in the final frame. That wasn’t enough for a win, but it has propelled him to his best stretch of the season by far.

Here’s Chris Dempsey with the most encouraging statistic of the season:

How hot — and clutch — has Jamal Murray been in the fourth quarter? These are his last four 4th quarters…

19 points vs. Washington
20 points vs. Cleveland
16 points vs. Atlanta
19 points tonight vs. Portland

Wow. #Nuggets

— Chris Dempsey (@chrisadempsey) February 24, 2021

Dame Time never struck Tuesday. There was only Winning Time — Jamal Murray’s time.

Michael Porter Jr. – B+

Guess who led all Nuggets in minutes played? Porter logged nearly forty minutes in the win and drew praise from his head coach for his approach after the game. Porter finished with a double-double but was quiet offensively in the second half. The Jokić – Murray two-man connection was thriving, and Denver needed defense and rebounding from the supporting cast. Porter obliged. He picked up four rebounds in the final frame despite not scoring and turned in a solid effort on defense.

“Tonight, I thought it was an all-around game from him,” Malone told the media.

“I just like the place he’s in. I congratulated him. He said, ‘Coach, I just want to help this team win.'”

Will Barton III – C+

Barton didn’t contribute much offensively, although he did corral seven rebounds, including three on the offensive end. Denver didn’t need much more than his 9 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists, but they needed more from him defensively. Barton can’t contain anyone right now, and it’s a big part of what’s going wrong for Denver defensively.

Monte Morris – B-

Morris caught the start at point guard and struggled a bit to find his shot. That said, he and his peer Campazzo did an excellent job containing Damian Lillard. Morris never turned the ball over either. Virtually no one did, which we’ll get to later.

Facundo Campazzo – B-

What a night from Campazzo. He was only 1/5 from the floor, but he was everywhere. Damian Lillard is one of the very best talents this league has to offer. If you only watched Nuggets games, however, you wouldn’t know it. They’ve done well containing him over the years, and that’s usually credit to Gary Harris. With no Harris, Morris and Campazzo stepped up and held him in check. Campazzo never stops grinding. He never stops moving. He finished with six assists, too, including this gem to Zeke Nnaji.

👀 this Facundo Campazzo pass on TNT! pic.twitter.com/LS5t6FznPV

— NBA (@NBA) February 24, 2021

Zeke Nnaji – B

Nnaji can play some defense. For all the credit handed out to Morris and Campazzo, Nnaji found himself switched onto Dame more than once. He held his own. The rookie finally got his welcome to the NBA moment when he matched up with Carmelo Anthony in the second quarter. Nnaji’s defense was solid, but Anthony turned back the clock with some vintage mid-range goodness. The rookie held firm, however, and stayed locked in. He was excellent on that end and also scored 10 points on 4/8 shooting.

Isaiah Hartenstein – C

Hartenstein played around ten minutes again Tuesday night. He finished with four points and three rebounds.

Game Notes:

The Denver Nuggets set an NBA record turning the ball over just once. Their team-wide 25:1 AST/TO ratio is the best we’ve seen. Murray was responsible for the lone turn and was responsible for my favorite clip from the postgame interviews.

Here’s Jamal learning the turnover was his, courtesy of Katy Winge: