First Quarter

KCP’s welcome back to Denver started off on a high note for the Magic, blocking Denver’s first shot of the night. It came off a Michael Porter Jr. three point attempt that Franz Wagner didn’t let see the light of day. The Magic didn’t let much of the Nuggets see the light of day, in fact. The defense for them held up well, and the Nuggets’ offense didn’t hold up well at all outside of Nikola Jokic.

Jokic in the first quarter had 13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. He did so efficiently, making 6 of his 8 shot attempts. However, the rest of the team combined for 12 points on 4/14 shooting. With Jamal Murray being a late scratch, the Nuggets went with Julian Strawther starting at point guard. He had several mistakes, and without either Jamal or Russ, the offense looked clunky. With the Magic’s offense being normally clunky, it was a tale of two teams trying to find their offensive footing, and not doing a great job at it.

KCP went 1-5 from the field in the first quarter, Franz Wagner started 2-7 from the field, and the rest of the team didn’t exactly do great. That was save for Wendell Carter Jr. who seems to play well against the Nuggets whenever they play. He had 7 points on perfect 3-3 shooting in the first. The Nuggets left the first frame 26-25.

Second Quarter

The first quarter was Nikola Jokic’s time to shine, and Michael Porter Jr. decided it was his in the second quarter. By the time he checked out of the game around the 6 minute mark, he had 9 points on 4/5 shooting. It was important for the Nuggets too, with him helping to win the non-Jokic minutes by 3 points. Not the widest gap ever, but it was a nice change of pace to see the bench minutes not sink the team.

Though, dear reader, I do hear you asking “what of the Jokic minutes”? Let me tell you, they went pretty well all things considered. Jokic picked up right where he left off, dropping another 10 points to go on top of the 13 from the first quarter. All in all, that brought him up to 23 going into halftime. Aaron Gordon also did a good job serving as a playmaker, dropping 7 assists in the first half just a game after dropping 12 assists the night prior.

The Magic had a hard time keeping up with MPJ and Jokic (who combined for 42 of the team’s 59 points) with Paolo not being able to find much of a rhythm, and Franz continuing to struggle to establish himself in the game. The Nuggets ultimately took a 59-50 lead going into the half. Not the largest lead in the world, but far from the worst.

Third Quarter

The third quarter wasn’t even a contest. It was Nuggets from top to bottom. They couldn’t be stopped! Michael Porter Jr. went off, dropping 11 points in the frame. That included some real sharpshooting type of threes. It also marked the third consecutive game in which he got to 30 or more points. He answered the call in this game, stepping in for Jamal Murray and then some. Nikola Jokic also kept up his onslaught, getting to a triple double by the end of the quarter with 28 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists. The rest of the team started to contribute as well with Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun getting to double digits in the game.

The Magic, on the other hand, didn’t do well at all. They only managed to drop 17 in the quarter, and Franz and Paolo both continued to struggle as well. Ultimately, the Nuggets took a comfortable 92-67 lead into the fourth quarter. They had an easy victory lined up.

Fourth Quarter

There is very little analysis to give about the fourth. Munder secured, onto the next.