The Denver Nuggets were short handed against a top team in the Eastern Conference but didn’t go down quietly. The Nuggets fought all the way to the buzzer and used a sloppy effort from the Cleveland Cavaliers to give themselves a chance. Ultimately though the talent bore out and Denver just didn’t have enough to finish with a win. Jamal Murray scored thirty-four and Peyton Watson chipped in twenty-one but the Nuggets couldn’t string together enough shots when it mattered most. In the end they lose in Cleveland 113-108.
Early on the Nuggets were able to muster a few points primarily working through Murray. The Cavs meanwhile had a couple big dunks and took advantage inside. Cleveland’s dominance down low got them a lead but the Nuggets kept within striking distance by forcing turnovers and Murray willing points on offense. He had twelve of Denver’s first fifteen points. The Nuggets couldn’t get over the hump on fully closing the lead though especially with no one else on the team hitting shots. They stayed a few buckets behind heading into the final minutes of the quarter, Zeke Nnaji got a pair of free throws to bring the non-Murray points to four. He hit a three after that and Murray got another bucket but Donavan Mitchell through yet another dime in the quarter and got the Cavs up 28-24 after one.
With Murray on the bench to start the second quarter the Nuggets struggled mightily on offense but the Cavs continued to turn the ball over and let Denver stay in it. Watson was the sole source of offense save for a friendly bounce for Tim Hardaway Jr. and the Cavs lead started to creep up as they cleaned up their offense. Watson kept Denver in it until Murray came back in meanwhile Lonzo Ball was suddenly hitting threes for Cleveland. Jamal was back on leading the Nugget’s offense single handed, he buried a three for his twenty-third point to get Denver back within two with just over three minutes left in the half. They stayed within a bucket heading down the stretch as Murray continued to lead the way. Jalen Pickett hit a hook shot layup at the buzzer to put the Nuggets down just 62-59.
The Cavaliers remained sloppy coming out of the locker room and that let the Nuggets seize the lead early in the third. They continued to play very well with everybody contributing and got up by eleven before starting to lose some focus. Cleveland pushed back, once again using offensive rebounds to help secure points. They went on a 13-3 run and after they pulled within one David Adelman had to take a timeout. The Nuggets offense was definitely not a well-oiled machine but they kept finding just enough buckets to cling to a small lead. Hardaway suddenly found his shot as the quarter was coming to a close which was needed to counter Mitchell who was starting to assert himself. Denver went on a run right at the end of the third and Nuggets went to the fourth leading 97-88.
Denver was a bit sloppy to open the final quarter but the Cavs weren’t much better. The Nuggets stayed in front by about seven or so for a bit but eventually their turnovers fueled a 7-0 Cavaliers run. Denver stopped the bleeding with a two-point lead but they couldn’t put together consecutive baskets to build any margin. Luckily, Cleveland was once again ice cold and couldn’t take advantage of Denver’s inconsistency. They continued to leave the game there for the Nuggets taking but Denver still struggled to find consistent points. Eventually the Cavs got the lead with about two minutes to go with the Nuggets unable to hit any shots. The glass killed Denver as well, after Jarrett Allen pulled in yet another offensive rebound Mitchell got a dunk and the Cavs were up four with under a minute to go. The Nuggets simply couldn’t hit a three and the Cavs ran them out of time. Denver ultimately comes up short and lose 113-108.
