Nuggets Film Room: Where the first quarter in San Antonio was lost

Jamal Murray is shooting a hair under 38 percent from three this season and last week against the Thunder and Jazz, Murray shot a combined 8-15 from beyond the arc. On the season, Murray is shooting 40 percent from distance on wide-open three-point field goals, the same percentage Klay Thompson is hitting on shots of that same variety.

But in the Nuggets’ 104-103 loss to in San Antonio Monday, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich treated Murray as the streaky shooter who hit just one of his seven three-point attempts in the Nuggets’ 120-112 loss to the Pelicans two nights earlier and shot one of eight from distance the last time Denver visited AT&T Center back in December. Murray hit only one of his three triples in the first quarter against the Spurs and missed a few open looks, as Popovich hoped he would, as did the rest of the Nuggets’ roster.

Denver had to play catch-up for the rest of the night following a dreadful opening 12 minutes where the Nuggets were outscored 36-17 and shot just 7-23 from the field. It was ultimately where Denver lost its third-straight game.

Long-range misfires put the Nugget in a hole

The NBA is a make or miss league, and Denver shot just 1-9 from three-point range in Monday’s first quarter. Paul Millsap, who entered this matchup shooting 41 percent on around three long-range attempts per game in February, wasn’t close on this miss.

Will Barton’s luck wasn’t any better on this wide-open look

In regards to Murray, it was notable how San Antonio defended the Nuggets’ starting point guard. The Spurs went under his screens all night and tried to bait Murray into beating them from beyond the arc. At times it caught Murray off-guard.

There was a method to San Antonio’s gameplan, as you probably would have guessed. Murray is shooting 40 percent from three at Pepsi Center this year and just 35 percent on the road. When Murray tried to attack, the Spurs closed in, forcing the 22-year-old to make a decision on the fly in heavy traffic.

Murray committed two turnovers in the first half, but he wasn’t the only one who struggled to hang onto the ball. Barton also had two giveaways.

The Nuggets didn’t contain the Spurs’ guards

One of the many stats that the Nuggets’ coaching staff keeps track of is how many blow-bys they allow per game. Denver gave up quite a few in the first quarter, most of which ended in Spurs baskets.

One of the biggest areas of concern for Denver defensively over the last two seasons has been its ability to contain dribble penetration. When opposing guards get into the teeth of the Nuggets’ defense so easily it puts more pressure on Nikola Jokic to protect the rim.

The defensive miscues weren’t limited to just blow-bys. Alridge also had his way with Denver inside on his way to 22 points on the night. Five of his nine field goals came in the paint.

Plumlee should have positioned himself more towards the baseline here to cut off Aldridge’s driving angle since Malik Beasley was providing help over the top.

Denver allowed San Antonio to shoot 59 percent from the field in the first quarter, helping the Spurs to get into somewhat of an offensive rhythm that they carried with them for the remainder of the night. But look at the Nuggets’ shooting numbers for the main reason why Denver never got going on either end of the floor until the fourth quarter, when Murray nearly led his team on an 18-point comeback.

For most teams, good defense leads to good offense. But the Nuggets aren’t your normal run-of-the-mill NBA team. Nikola Jokic and his bunch get more engaged on defense when their shots are falling and Denver made just one of their five uncontested three-point looks in the quarter.

It’s a make or miss league, particularly for the Nuggets.