Gary Harris and Nikola Jokic did their dribble hand-off dance, and like so many times before, it bore fruit. With roughly 3 minutes remaining in the first quarter, Harris tossed the ball to Jokic on the left side of the floor and darted around him. Harris’ defender ducked under, attempting to cut off Harris’ path to the basket. Harris took advantage of the miscalculation by rising up and burying a three.
The shot gave the Nuggets an eight-point advantage, and they went on to beat the Perth Wildcats of the Australian National Basketball League 96-88, though the rest of the game didn’t go as smoothly as that sequence.
The Jamal Murray-Harris-Will Barton-Paul Millsap-Jokic starting five logged its first minutes of the preseason together. Harris missed Denver’s first two games against the Lakers with a strained hamstring, and Murray was sidelined in Tuesday’s game with ankle soreness. Both were back in action as the starting group Denver plans to use opening night operated with uneven results.
The Nuggets only led by 10 at halftime. They turned it over nine times across the first two quarters, a frustratingly high number for head coach Michael Malone, who stressed the necessity of playing clean basketball in the lead-up to the game.
Things only got worse in the third quarter when Paul Millsap was ejected after arguing for a foul on a baseline dunk. It capped a poor night for Denver’s starting power forward, who finished with five points on 2-for-7 shooting and four turnovers.
Perth cut Denver’s lead down to one point late in the third quarter. Denver only had a five-point lead going into the fourth before the bench unit helped it pull away late.
Perth point guard Bryce Cotton, the reigning NBL MVP, was a thorn in the Nuggets’ side all night. He scored 33 points on 21 shots.
Malik Beasley was one of the bright spots for Denver. His strong preseason play continued as he connected on his first four three-pointers of the game. He drilled three treys in the first half and another late in the third quarter, which pushed Denver’s lead back to four.
Beasley (14 points) was one of four double-digit scorers off the Nuggets’ bench. Monte Morris (15 points), Mason Plumlee (11 points) and Trey Lyles (10 points) all made positive contributions.
The Nuggets, who are 3-0 in the preseason, next play Tuesday against the Clippers in Los Angeles.
