THE RUNDOWN
The Nuggets almost gave one away to the Milwaukee Bucks at Pepsi Center, but thanks to 25 points and seven rebounds from Danilo Gallinari, 19 points and nine rebounds from Kenneth Faried and 16 points, 11 assists and just one turnover from Emmanuel Mudiay Denver was able to hang on for the win, 103-102 in dramatic fashion. The Bucks were on fire to start the game and took a 64-53 lead into the locker room. Milwaukee played at home on Nov. 10th against the Boston Celtics and lost 99-83 – the Nuggets turned up the heat in the third quarter and the Bucks looked ready to give up.
Michael Malone’s team held a 13 point lead with just 7:11 to play in the fourth, but that’s when things started to fall apart for Denver.
“That first half, offensively we were effective at times, but defensively we were not in the building,” said Malone. “And that was my challenge to them at halftime. Down 11 and you allowed a team to come into your building, that played last night, and shoot 70 [percent] and 72 [percent] from three. Those are unacceptable numbers. And I challenged those guys and to their credit, we come out in that second half we hold them to 38 points, 36 [percent] in the field and 18 from three. So, it was a tale of two halves.”
WHERE/WHEN
Pepsi Center – Denver, CO / Nov. 11 / Game 8
STARS OF THE GAME
Gallinari had 25 points on 7-17 shooting, including 7-7 from the free throw line, and 4-8 from 3-point range. Gallo had 14 points in the first half, added 11 in the third quarter, but failed to score in just over seven minutes of action in the fourth (0-2 from the field).
Gallo had a blunder late in the game as he got caught ball-watching and let Giannis Antetokounmpo sneak around him, receive a pass in the middle of the paint and he scored over Faried. The help defense from Faried was on point on that play, Giannis just finished with an even better shot as he was falling away. The Bucks took the lead 102-101 with just 0:17 seconds left to play.
The Italian did have a nice defensive play a bit earlier in the quarter around the 4:12 mark when Greg Monroe was left alone under the hoop and Gallo helped, stole the ball and denied the Bucks two points in a one point win. There are plays made throughout the game that help win it and this was certainly one of those plays.
Faried had himself a fine offensive game with the aforementioned 19 points and nine rebounds. His biggest play though came on a broken play that saw Gallo hoist up a desperation heave that Faried said post-game he had to go get. This was the game winner.
It’s hard not to gush over Mudiay’s play – especially the 11 assists with just one turnover. His night impressed Malone and the joy Mudiay had when the final buzzer sounded was a sight to behold. Mudiay was clutch from the foul line late as he went 4-6 from the charity stripe in the final five minutes, including 3-4 in the final two minutes.
PLAYS OF THE GAME
Nikola Jokic has been having a fine rookie season with 6.7 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. Tonight he played 14 minutes and had eight points, five rebound, four assists and two steals. It has to be hard for Malone to keep him off the floor and coach answered my question on it pregame.
“You trust him,” said Michael Malone. “He’s so skilled. He makes good decisions. He has the ability to score in the post. He just has such a high IQ, a great feel for the game. So, he does make it tough [to not play him]. He has been very very impressive so far.”
Here we see Jokic go to work out on the perimeter against Greg Monroe, he gets the ball tapped away, but manages to re-gain control, drive baseline and use the rim to keep Monroe’s shot blocking ability at bay.
During Denver’s nice third quarter 23-9 run, Darrell Arthur showed off his incredible ability to feed the post from the top of the key. The Nuggets don’t have the best post-up players, so getting bigs easy looks is a good way to find efficient shots. Arthur finds Faried here for an easy look.
TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
The Bucks came out on fire, shooting 70 percent through the first half. The Nuggets utilized a 23-9 run from the 7:48 mark of the third quarter to the end of the period to take a 87-80 lead. During that span, Kenneth Faried led all scorers with 11 points on 4-4 shooting, followed by Gallinari’s eight points on 2-3 shooting (2-2 from 3-point range). But the Bucks were not done …
The Nuggets failed to close out the game in the fourth quarter and surrendered the lead with 1:21 to play, 100-98, after being up 95-82 with 7:11 to play. It was a nail biter in the final minutes and nice to see the Nuggets keep their cool and come away with the win.
BY THE NUMBERS
The Nuggets had a 97.8 percent win probability with their 95-82 lead with 7:11 left in the game. The Bucks defied the odds and came storming back, thanks in part to the defensive liabilities of Faried and Hickson on the inside and the Bucks hot shooting from the outside.
QUOTE OF THE GAME
“All these close games are great moments and teaching moments for him,” said Malone. “What I loved about tonight? 11 assists, one turnover, which is fantastic.”
LASTING IMPACT
The Nuggets get back to .500 for the second time of the season, after starting 1-0 in Houston and then falling to the Timberwolves in Denver (1-1). The Nuggets now move into a three-way tie with the Portland Trail Blazers and Rockets for seventh, eighth and ninth place in the Western Conference.
WHAT’S NEXT
You don’t want to miss Denver’s next game, Nov. 13th against the Houston Rockets – when Ty Lawson makes his return to Denver.
