Nuggets Film Room: How Denver failed to execute down the stretch against Portland

DENVER, Colo. — With exactly one minute left in regulation Sunday night in the Nuggets home opener against the Portland Trailblazers, Denver held a 104-96 lead. What followed was a series of possessions where the Nuggets didn’t execute on offense and fell victim to Damian Lillard C.J. McCollum and coach Terry Stotts.

Here’s how the Nuggets fell to 1-1 on the season:

1:00 remaining | Nuggets 104 Trailblazers 96

Kenneth Faried, who played one of his best defensive games in a Nuggets uniform (until this last minute and overtime), comes up with a timely steal on Al-Farouq Aminu who carelessly leaves his dribble right in front of Faried. Faried had nine rebounds and two steals on the night, but isn’t able to keep control of this one and tries to hit a streaking Emmanuel Mudiay. The ball winds up in Lillard’s hands who nails a 28-footer to bring Portland to within five.

47 seconds remaining | Nuggets 104 Trailblazers 99

Out of a timeout and up five, the Nuggets go to their bread and butter; a Danilo Gallinari isolation on the wing. While we didn’t see Gallinari ISO’s often during the preseason, Denver has reverted to their two-minute offense of last year through two regular season games.

Per NBA.com, Gallinari has ISO’d on 33.3 percent of his possessions through two games, that leads the NBA. But he’s also been fairly efficient. The healthy 0.92 points per possessions he’s averaging in isolation situations is up from the 0.85 PPP he scored last season in a less frequent amount of attempts.

I can see where coach Michael Malone is coming from on this one. Denver is nursing a five-point lead and the last thing he wants is a turnover where the Nuggets don’t get a shot up, which is much more likely if you put the ball in Mudiay or Will Barton‘s hands. Usually, Gallinari gets off a better look than he does in this instance, but Aminu was able to lock Gallinari up all night to the tune of 4-16 shooting (0-5 from three).

21 seconds remaining |  Nuggets 104 Trailblazers 99

McCollum corrals the rebound off the Gallinari miss and advances into the frontcourt. The Denver defense holds for the first couple of passes this possession until McCollum beats Mudiay off the dribble and the Nuggets, without any rim protection in the game, leave a wide open goal for McCollum to shoot at. He slows up just as he gets the restricted area, baits Mudiay, draws contact with the 20-year-old and easily finishes the layup.

Jusuf Nurkic, who scored 12 points on 4-9 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds to go along with one block only played 23 minutes  last night and could have offered the Nuggets some rim protection throughout a second half. Nurkic only played 6:42 in the second half (zero fourth-quarter minutes) and was a +12 plus-minus when he was on the court Saturday night.

Malone explained his decision to go with Faried down the stretch after the game:

“Tonight, you got a guy like Jusuf Nurkic ,who did some good things, but there’s so many pick-and-rolls that they play,” Malone said. “We just went with Kenneth Faried’s athleticism that was going to help those guards a little bit better.”

13.7 seconds remaining | Nuggets 104 Trailblazers 102

Now up two with 13.7 seconds left, Denver has to get the ball inbounds, take a foul, hit two free throws, then celebrate a 2-0 start to the regular season before a vaunted five-game road trip against five potential playoff teams.

While it looks like Mudiay has Gallinari open on what’s his first look, he doesn’t see it. Mudiay elects to lob it to Jokic but instead of throwing it high, to where the 6-foot-11 big man can catch it above the 6-foot-4 McCollum, Mudiay throws it towards the baseline, out of Jokic’s reach.

12 seconds remaining | Nuggets 104 Trailblazers 102

After a Portland timeout, Lillard looks to attack Mudiay and tie the game up, but Mudiay comes through with a clutch defensive play and pokes the ball away from Lillard after he’s beat off the dribble.

Faried corrals the loose ball and is able to outlet it to Wilson Chandler who takes the foul. Once again, Denver has to make two free throws and it’s curtains.

4 seconds remaining | Nuggets 104 Trailblazers 102

Chandler, of course, missed all of last season due to injury but shot 80 percent from the line (12-15) through six preseason games, was 77.5 percent from the line in 2014-15 and 79.5 percent in the fourth quarter that year.

He misses both this time and Denver again leaves the door open for Portland to steal this one.

4 seconds remaining | Nuggets 104 Trailblazers 102

After Chandler’s two misses. Portland converts the lob to Damian Lillard two tie the game at 104.

Clearly, there was a miscommunication between Mudiay and Faried. Was Faried supposed to switch onto Mudiay’s man (Lillard) as he went around a Meyers Leonard screen?

“They clear out the backside, great play by Terry, obviously, good execution and Kenneth was on the strong side elbow on Meyers Leonard,” Malone said. “Didn’t track the play at all. He was hugged up, curled it and got to the rim.”

Malone seems to think the plan was for Faried to switch, but Faried didn’t see it the same way when I asked him postgame about what happened on Portland’s final play of regulation:

“I don’t even know [what happened], I was just guarding the person I was supposed to be guarding,” Faried said. “He made a good play, that was it.”

2.1 second remaining | Nuggets 104 Trailblazers 104

Can’t exactly tell where the Nuggets were going on this sideline out of bounds play, but it looks like Gallinari wanted to go to Wilson Chandler (5-11 shooting, 1-3 from 3-point range on the night) who was jutting out towards the Portland sideline, but Mudiay looks to encroach on his space. Gallinari then gives it to Jokic who can’t get up a good look.

“When you’re up eight with one minute to go in the game, that’s a game that you have to win,” Malone said. “It did not come down to that last play when I thought Gallo got fouled. It’s turnovers, missed free throws, poor execution.”

Overtime 44 seconds remaining : | Nuggets 113 Trailblazers 111

Portland and Denver traded baskets over the first couple possessions of overtime. Jokic had five of Denver’s nine points in the overtime period up until this point, but the Nuggets strategy, like it was at the end of regulation was clear: Get Gallinari the basketball on the wing.

Jokic has Gallinari wide open against the smaller Crabbe but elects to shoot the three instead. Not a terrible shot, but also probably not the best look the Nuggets could get.

34 seconds remaining | Nuggets 113 Trailblazers 111

McCollum stole the show in overtime. Seven points on 3-5 shooting, two of them coming here on this drive to the basket after Jokic’s miss. Not wanting to foul, the Nuggets give McCollum a clear line to the rim and he finishes the floater with ease.

25 second remaining | Nuggets 113 Trailblazers 113

Denver gets the ball to Gallinari who’s posting up Lillard at the foul line – advantage Nuggets. Gallinari converted a similar opportunity where the Nuggets got the switch and Gallinari posted up Lillard on the foul line with 3:18 to go in the fourth quarter. That time, Gallinari rose up an buried the jumper over Lillard. This time, Lillard pressed up into Gallinari, not giving him any room to shoot over the top. Gallinari then drives past Lillard and is the recipient of a questionable no-call.

“I thought Gallo got fouled,” Malone said after the game.

6.3 seconds remaining  | Nuggets 113 Trailblazers 113

Portland doesn’t call a timeout as Stotts and Lillard recognize Faried picks up Lillard at halfcourt. With no time for Denver to switch, Lillard takes Faried off the dribble and calmly nails a floater before any Nuggets defender can challenge him at the rim.

0.3 seconds remaining | Nuggets 113 Trailblazers 115

There’s not much you can do with .3 on the clock except for a lob at the rim, which the Nuggets don’t try for. Instead, the ball goes to Gallinari at the top of the key and the buzzer sounds as soon as it hits his hands.

It’s back to the drawing board for Denver. They now head out on a five-game road trip against five potential playoff teams; Toronto, Minnesota, Detroit, Boston, and Memphis and then return home to face Golden State and Detroit, two additional playoff teams.

Late-game execution is difficult to master with a 20-year-old point guard and a rotation which hasn’t played a ton of minutes together over the past year, but the Nuggets will have to get things together in a hurry if they want to survive their difficult schedule early this season.