MLK Day matinee pits Nuggets against Magic

[Elite_video_player id=”28″]

DENVER — The Denver Nuggets come into their Martin Luther King Jr. day matchup with the Orlando Magic looking to build on the momentum of their 140-112 victory over the Indiana Pacers in London. On the other end, the Magic have lost five of their last six games and are struggling to score, averaging just over 99 points per contest over that span.

Regular season game No. 39 | Denver Nuggets (15-23) vs Orlando Magic (17-25)

Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado  | 3:00 PM MST | TV: Altitude

Building momentum

The matchup with Orlando proves an opportunity for Denver to begin reclaiming some positive momentum. The Nuggets have been elite offensively with Nikola Jokic as the focal point and displayed more effort on the defensive end of the ball against the Pacers in London. Facing an Orlando team who is backsliding and struggling to score as of late it seems like a perfect recipe to get Denver back on a winning streak but the Magic do have quite a few weapons themselves that could spoil the party.

“Gotta give Elfrid Payton credit. He is out there scoring, playmaking, rebounding, Michael Malone said. “His fingerprints are all over the game. You have a big in Nikola Vucevic who the play through quite a lot and he gives you matchup problems in the post. Aaron Gordon who is a terrific athlete and he is shooting the ball. He had 28 points at the LA Clippers and had 18 points in the first quarter. Serge Ibaka is a 38 percent three-point shooter so they have weapons.”

If the Nuggets continue their offensive onslaught they should be able to squeeze by the Magic with a victory but if they choose to play with the defensive intensity that they had in London against Indiana, then they should be able to walk away with their second consecutive win fairly easily.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day

While the matchup between the Magic and Nuggets will be the main attraction, even larger than basketball is what the third Monday of January represents. Martin Luther King Jr. Day carries more weight as King’s teachings as an activist have impacted nearly every American citizen in some way.

Not only did King fight for the rights of African Americans but for equality for all. The NBA has done a marvelous job of respecting that and Malone reiterated those sentiments at practice Sunday.

“One thing about the NBA, whether it is David Stern or Adam Silver as commissioner, they are at the forefront of all of that,” Malone said. “Our league is represented by all walks of life and to celebrate and honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I think is the right thing to do.”

“Most of our guys on our team and in our league are African-American and there has to be a real feel there but the great thing about Dr. King is that it’s not just for black and white. It is for everybody, for my two girls,” Malones continued. “I think it is great that the league is at the forefront, as Popovich said, celebrating the legacy of Dr. King and what his message was but it is not just that. From all walks of life. Every color, creed, religion, and sexual orientation the league is at the forefront and I am happy to be even a small piece of that.”