Grades: Nuggets snatch victory over Thunder from jaws of defeat

It’s not every day you see a goaltending call on a half-court heave to beat the buzzer. It’s even rarer for that to be the decisive play of the game. One can make a strong argument that’s what went down in Ball Arena Friday night, as the Nuggets went on to win 97-95 after Hamidou Diallo committed that same crime on a prayer from Murray. The Nuggets never controlled this game, but they walked away with the win nonetheless.

“There’s no such thing as an ugly win,” Michael Malone said after the game. “You have to win the ugly games.”

Let’s go to the grades:

Nikola Jokić – A

No one could buy a three-point shot for Denver Friday night, and that includes Jokić. He finished 2/7 beyond the arc, but that’s the lowlight of his boxscore. Al Horford scored 12 points in his first stint alone behind a combination of poor individual defense and schematic breakdowns. From there, Jokić settled in and ultimately dominated. He finished with an efficient 22 points, 12 rebounds, and 9 assists on a night when no one could knock one down. The Nuggets never controlled this game, but Jokić was in full control for the lion’s share of his minutes. He did most of his damage in the second quarter when he dropped 12 points on 5/7 shooting.

Jamal Murray – B-

Murray dug deep after a brutal first half in which he couldn’t find the bottom of the net and couldn’t stay in front of anyone. He opened the game 3/9 from the field, but he began to put his head down and get to the rim in the second half. In those moments, we saw flickers of the player that left us all in shock with his remarkable performance in the playoffs. He looked fast, strong, and smooth — like a different player physically. That jump shot will need to start falling, but it was great to see him find ways to impact the game once he saw it wouldn’t go down.

After the game, Murray was asked about that goaltending call mentioned above. “I don’t know why he would do that,” Murray said with a laugh. “That’s a question for him.”

Will Barton – C+

Barton struggled right up until the moment he became the hero. He scored six points in the fourth quarter on two of the biggest shots all night. He hit a stepback three to cut the lead to 89-86 right around the three-minute mark. Then drained another with 43 seconds left, pushing Denver’s newfound lead to four points. He also finished with five rebounds and five assists in 35:38 of action. He also led the team with three turnovers.

Michael Porter Jr. – B-

A great result this was for the Porter – Jokić connection. Porter, too could not connect from deep, but he stayed positive and found other ways to score, most notably by cutting. He took advantage of Jokić’s nature, streaking hard to the rim knowing his teammate would find an angle, and finishing strong when the ball found him. He stayed dialed in and made a winning impact.

“We’re not worried about Mike,” Murray said after the game.

Paul Millsap – B-

Millsap initially matched up with Darius Bazley, who looks the part of stretch four. But Bazley is not a stretch four. He’s shooting 28% from deep this season, which helped Millsap stay on the floor for 33:05. He closed the game alongside his fellow starters.

Monte Morris – C+

Morris only scored seven points and didn’t record a single assist. The good news? All seven of those points were scored in the fourth when he led all scorers.

In Monte we Trust.

JaMychal Green – C-

Green really struggled out there, which not a single person loves to see. He only played around 16 minutes in the win.

R.J. Hampton – C+

Seven points and four rebounds for Hampton, who played nearly 20 minutes in the win. He factored in all the way down to the final possession, when he intentionally missed a free throw to close the game.

The Nuggets are in a tough spot now. The honeymoon phase is over. To be anything less than great is a failure, and the patience of the fans is beginning to wear thin. As they sputter in the first third of the season, Hampton’s minutes serve as a space heater in the cold night. His teammates seem excited for him, and the fans seem excited about him. Here we are, huddled around rookie minutes for warmth as we wait for the sun to rise.

Zeke Nnaji – C-

Nnaji logged another 6:17 in this one, but he threw zeroes up across the box score. If there’s a takeaway behind such a limited run, it’s the zero in the rebound column. That’s one area in which he’s expected to succeed right away. We haven’t seen it yet, but it should go without saying that’s in minimal opportunity.