Nuggets-Kings Grades: Paul Millsap finds his form

Yet again the Denver Nuggets fell behind early but managed to crawl their way back to beat the Sacramento Kings 120-118. With Isaiah Thomas’ return, another triple-double from the Nikola Jokic and a fine performance from Paul Millsap, there were plenty of heroes to chose from in this one.

We grade every performance from the Nuggets with our Dynamic Player Rating (DPR), which takes into account 12 different statistical factors.

Note: for DPRs that are lacking context, our beat reporters are offering their scout’s grade.

Nikola Jokic (A-) 79.92 — Jokic posted yet another triple-double, his 12th of the season and 28th in his career, tying Michael Jordan. This also marked his fourth in six games this month. All outlandish figures.

In this one, Jokic’s shooting stroke wasn’t quite there with a 41 eFG%. He scored 20 points with his most memorable buckets coming on putbacks, including the game-winner. Where he really stood out was on the boards with 18 rebounds. He also dished out 11 assists in 36 minutes. His four turnovers and plus-2 on the night hurt his score some in an otherwise well-rounded game.

Jamal Murray (C-) 51.24 — Murray’s shooting struggles continued, as he only managed 10 points in 31 minutes on 50 eFG%, going 3-of-8 from the field with two of those makes coming from three-point territory. To his credit, he kept at it and dished out four assists. However, his -6 night was underwhelming as the Nuggets’ offensive spark came from others on the perimeter.

Malik Beasley (C+) 64.18 — Beasley’s ejection put a bit of a damper on his performance but kept his grade in the C+ range as he scored 21 points in 31 minutes. His percentages from the floor weren’t great but his scoring output was still huge for Denver in getting back in the game. Beyond his scoring, Beasley didn’t contribute much else statistically in a -4 night.

Paul Millsap (A-) 83.13 — Back in the starting lineup, Millsap had his second-best game of the season per DPR, with the best plus-minus of any starter as he went off for a double-double scoring 25 points and adding 13 boards. In a game where the Nuggets allowed 118 points to the Kings, Millsap’s 104 DRtg was particularly impressive as he added two steals and a block. He was also efficient, scoring 25 points on 16 shot attempts for a 65 eFG%. A truly quality performance from the big man who schooled Sactown’s young bigs all night.

Will Barton (C-) 54.45 — Barton had a ho-hum outing, scoring 13 points on 37 percent eFG% in 31 minutes, with four of those points coming from the charity stripe. That resulted in a lackluster 86 ORtg. In a plus-3 outing, you’d expect more from the veteran swingman who’s still struggling to find his groove.

Monte Morris (C) 55.91 — Morris was clutch for the Nuggets, particularly in running the two-man game with Jokic that led to the game-winning bucket. He also sparked the offense in 25 minutes scoring 10 points, adding two dimes, a steal, and three boards for a plus-9 plus-minus. He wasn’t the most efficient from the floor as he missed his three attempts from beyond the arc but still found a way to make an impact while avoiding a single turnover. He’s now on a five-game streak without a turnover.

Mason Plumlee (C+) 60.81 — Plumlee’s eight points and seven boards to go with five offensive rebounds were big for Denver as he shot 80 percent from the field. Plumlee also added three assists and a steal in a solid well-rounded night. It wasn’t a stand out performance but Plumlee definitely merited a passing grade.

Isaiah Thomas (C-) 53.92 — Thomas’ spark was huge for Denver as the veteran guard got in a rhythm and helped the Nuggets crawl out the hole they were in. He was also highly efficient scoring eight points on 66 eFG% as he made two huge threes. His two assists to two turnovers hurt as did his disparity in ORtg and DRtg — a 103 to 119 difference.

The stats weren’t great beyond the scoring spark but Thomas’ return already proved to have a huge impact, a big sign for the Nuggets going forward.

Scout’s Grade (A) — All things considered, Thomas was arguably Denver’s most impactful player Wednesday night. When he came on the first quarter, he changed the complexion of the game, just like he did in the third when he scored eight points in around three minutes. He didn’t even log 20 minutes in his first game back from an 11-month absence but was as important as anyone to this Nuggets win.

Torrey Craig (D) 41.01 — Craig’s streak of poor grades continued as he only managed two points in 13 minutes while pulling down two rebounds and adding a steal. His 108 DRtg was pretty good in the high-scoring affair but his poor shooting hurt him as did a lack of impact in other areas.