The Denver Nuggets won their first game since their coaching change with a 124-116 victory over the Sacramento Kings. Without former coach Michael Malone at the helm, the Nuggets definitely seemed to talk more and be more into the huddles. That translated into an overall improved effort from the Non-Jokic starters, with all of them scoring at least 18 points, which was Jalen Pickett’s career-high. Christian Braun had a team-high 25 while Nikola Jokic had a fairly casual 20 / 12 / 11 night with 4 steals but he directed traffic late and Pickett hit some big shots that Sacramento dared him to make as Denver took the victory. In the loss, Sacramento got 27 from Zach LaVine, 22 from DeMar DeRozan and 20 from Keon Ellis but they just couldn’t get the key stops as Denver attacked them inside for 52 points.
Game Flow
LaVine missed a baseline jumper to start the game, and Porter returned the favor by botching a layup. Christian Braun hit a three on a sagging defense and Porter kept crashing the defensive glass to keep the Kings to 1 shot. Braun got fouled in transition and made both free throws. Trey Lyles and MPJ traded threes as Joker played more of a screener early until his rebound started a transition that Braun finished. Jalen Pickett caused a turnover with a poor pass to Jokic but Denver was up 12-5 early. Lyles got some free throws, Braun airmailed a corner 3, and Jokic finally took and made his first shot with the Kings defense keying on him when he touches the ball. Braun hit another 3, the Kings got some pressure inside with free throws to keep it close, but the Nuggets responded with 5 straight makes as they attacked the hoop with multiple oops and hard drives. Jokic made a free-throw line jumper to respond to a Kings layup, and Aaron Gordon hit a floater and a layup to answer a Jonas Valanciunas fallaway. The Nuggets missed a couple of wide open three to let Sacramento get closer, but Russell Westbrook hit a long jumper and MPJ muscled up a bank shot to get Denver the 33-25 lead after one quarter.
Doug McDermott and Devin Carter made three 3s to open the second quarter while Julian Strawther missed a pair and Russ missed at the rim as the Kings took the lead in just 90 seconds. The Kings bench just played harder in the early going, but MPJ got a finish at the rim and a DeAndre Jordan block turned into an MPJ 3. Westbrook had a steal and an assist on a Peyton Watson transition finish and found their gear. Peyton Watson had a nice paint finish but McDermott hit a 3 for the Kings and LaVine had a dunk to close it to 43-41. MPJ steadied the bench though as Sabonis missed a dunk and Jordan had a putback finish. Jalen Pickett hit a stepback 3, MPJ got fouled going for a dunk and the bench handed Jokic a 5 point lead when he came back in. DeRozan hit a tough shot over AG, which AG answered with a dunk off a Pickett pass. Braun had a tremendous finish at the rim that Keon Ellis answered with a 3. Pickett missed a 3 however as Jokic continued to sit on 2 shot attempts. Jokic took and made his third shot and Braun finished and AG assist at the rim to make it 57-52. Jokic finally got free throws after some rough contact and made both, but the Kings answered with a three again – that AG powered home a dunk in his own response. Jokic finished through contact, MPJ buried a 3, and Denver had a 66-58 lead at halftime.
Braun hit an easy layup off a Jokic assist, AG missed one but then hit a midrange jumper, and both men then missed layups but kept hustling. Braun’s three made it 73-58 with a nice Denver run to start the quarter. Keon Ellis hit a Sacramento three, then MPJ and Lyles traded layups. Lyles hit his 3, MPJ missed his, and AG missed his fourth 3 of the game. Pickett made back-to-back threes, then a third on an AG assist to force a Sacramento timeout with Denver up 84-68. Jokic missed a couple of shots as the Kings tried to close the gap, but Jokic got to the line to stall that attempt. AG and Watson both made great layups, but LaVine got one back the other way. LaVine hit a three, Porter answered with free throws, and Denver finished up 93-83.
Russell Westbrook had a great rebound and coast-to-coast finish in the opening minute of the fourth, but there were some inconsistent possessions early. Westbrook missed a 3 after a pass to DJ for a dunk went awry, but MPJ blocked Domantas Sabonis to keep Denver comfortably ahead. Russ missed again, DeRozan made a paint bucket, and Denver took a timeout to regroup. Denver’s defense picked up even as their offense struggled without the starters, especially Jokic, but Jordan made a tough tip-in to make it 100-90 Denver. Jokic had 4 free throws, Lyles had a dunk-and-one, and LaVine hit a three as he continued his second half heater. A Jokic turnover turned into an Ellis three and Denver’s led was down to 105-101. AG and LaVine traded threes, then after a timeout MPJ rattled home a side-step 3 that was big. DeRozan hit a tough 2 – as he normally does – and Jokic finished in the paint through traffic to answer. Pickett hit a Joker-assisted paint jumper, then buried a corner three to put Denver up by double digits in the closing minutes. The Kings hit a three but Braun answered with a crafty layup and Denver won 124-116.
Final Thoughts
– Energy was better, execution still needs a little work. Denver came out with a more defensive mentality and really did well in the first quarter. The bench collapsed to start the second, and struggled to score in the fourth, but Adelman put his faith in the starters and they combined for 105 of Denver’s 124 points. But just trying harder was such a key in the game, staying focused when Sacramento made their runs, keeping their heads up and continuing to play. Every time Sacramento threw a punch, Denver threw one back. It was far from a perfect game, but the Nuggets looked hungry and in it for all 48 minutes and that – rather than their checked-out look for much of the second half of the season – made all the difference.
– Loved the vocal players and the effort to close. The Nuggets looked more determined and vocal in timeouts and on the court, and more focused when Sacramento made their runs. Jokic was talking up a storm in huddles, pointing out a ton of things to Pickett in particular and then feeding him precisely because Sacramento’s plan was to help off of him. And Pickett responded with several key shots and a career-high. Russell Westbrook meanwhile just didn’t quite have it again and played just 17 minutes. Adelman rode the hot hand instead of the pecking order and was rewarded with his first victory. The shots of Adelman and Jokic in animated and upbeat conversation during many of the game pauses was an extremely encouraging sign.
Adelman allowing Jokic the room to use his voice and then pulling individual players aside during free throws to discuss specifics was such an interesting part of the game experience. Adelman took many of his rotational keys from Malone’s but his energy on the court is so different and the team responded in quite different ways. A change in voice after a decade, this late in the season, must be quite a form of whiplash but Denver handled it well. Two games to go until the playoffs. As Jokic said after the game, “Maybe he woke up the beast.” Wouldn’t that be a welcome sight in the Mile High.
