Nuggets-76ers Grades: Poor shooting sinks Denver

The Denver Nuggets fell for just the fourth time at home this season, 107-102 to the Philadelphia 76ers Saturday night. Dario Saric’s 20 points, nine rebounds, and six assists paced the 76ers. Denver shot just 40.2 percent from the field in the loss.

Here’s how each Nuggets player performed.

Jamal Murray (A) – Murray paced Denver with 18 first-half points. He was aggressive and confident. Murray scored at the rim, from midrange and from three. He sputtered a little in the second half when he scored 13 points on just 3-11 shooting but Murray’s play was the reason Denver controlled the game until the third quarter.

Gary Harris (B+) – Denver’s starting shooting guard had a few crafty finishes in the first half around the rim. Harris registered with 17 points on the night but shot just 1-5 from three. His three-point shooting slump this month is becoming a bit of a storyline as the 23-year-old shot just 30 percent from distance in December.

Wilson Chandler (B+) – Chandler earned high marks tonight for his defense on Ben Simmons who he held to just six points on 3-9 shooting. Simmons finished with five rebounds but just six assists as Chandler was able to keep him from dictating the flow of the game. On offense, Chandler was quiet and finished with just two points but was a plus-one in 33 minutes — one of just three Nuggets’ players to finish with a positive plus-minus.

Nikola Jokic (B) – Jokic came out of the gates slow tonight. He didn’t attempt a shot in the first quarter but did register four assists. He scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half but did so on just 3-11 shooting. Like the rest of Denver’s shooters, Jokic got good looks but just couldn’t get anything to fall. He played hard in the fourth quarter but it was too little too late.

Mason Plumlee (D) – After a stretch of games where Plumlee has played his best basketball in a Nuggets’ uniform, tonight was a step back for Denver’s starting big man. Plumlee had a bad first half, shot 0-4 from the field and missed some bunnies around the rim. Plumlee turned the ball over two times tonight and did not make a field goal. Plumlee’s lone point came from the free-throw stripe where he shot 1-6 with four of his attempts coming by the way of intentional fouls committed by the 76ers to send the 40 percent free-throw shooter to the line.

Will Barton (B) – Barton had a big first half and tallied 12 points, five rebounds and four assists. His second half didn’t go as well. Barton finished with 14 points seven rebounds and five assists on the night. He also shot just 1-8 from three and like his teammates, just couldn’t hit open shots. In December Barton shot under 30 percent from three-point range.

Trey Lyles (A) – Lyles continues to do what Denver asks of him. He drained two threes in the first half and finished with a healthy 16 points off the bench in 31 minutes. Another solid outing from Lyles.

Next up for the Nuggets, who fell to 20-17 on the year with tonight’s loss, is a Wednesday night matchup versus the Phoenix Suns at Pepsi Center on Jan. 3.