The Nuggets lost 110-87 in a game where Denver’s massive injury list finally caught up with them. Charlotte came in on the attack from the jump and Denver had no answers. The normal starters that played like Jamal Murray and Peyton Watson looked tired, and after some physical play that banged up Watson particularly they didn’t have a lot of juice on the second night of a back-to-back. Jamal Murray had 16 points and Watson had 11, but one of the only bright spots was Julian Strawther getting some extended playing time to put up 15 points of his own.
Charlotte was also on a back-to-back but they came out with the right energy as they got 23 points from Brandon Miller, and LaMelo Ball had an easy 10 points and 6 assists. The Hornets just had a far more complete game as they started well from deep, then got their work done in the paint later and Denver had no answer for either. In the end it was about Denver’s inability to buy a bucket, though – finally a game where the lack of Denver’s normal starters reached out and bit them.
Game Flow
Brandon Miller opened the game with a three over DaRon Holmes, and Jamal Murray hit a pullup in response. Miles Bridges hit a layup, while Peyton Watson and Jamal Murray missed threes. Kon Knueppel made a pair of threes and Jalen Pickett made one for Denver, and Jamal’s fadaway cut it to 11-7 Charlotte early. LaMelo Ball hit another three as Charlotte stayed true to their nature and kept gunning from deep, and Watson’s fadeaway was answered by another Miller three to force a Denver timeout. Denver had a turnover and a missed 3 from Tim Hardaway Jr. while Charlotte hit another three. Watson blocked Josh Green’s shot but then missed his own bucket the other way, and committed a foul to put Miller at the line for the Hornets. Murray hit a layup the stop the Charlotte run, and Watson went down holding his knee but luckily it wasn’t serious. Watson missed another 3 as Denver couldn’t find their legs for any of their shots, and Tidjane Salaun hit back-to-back shots to put Charlotte up 16. Watson finally finished at the rim but then Kalkbrenner returned the favor. THJ made a three for Denver’s first two consecutive shots made in the quarter, Jamal hit a nice 18-footer and almost had a steal in the closing seconds but Denver still trailed 33-18 after one.
David Adelman called a timeout five seconds into the second quarter to yell at the refs. Hardaway got fouled shooting a three and made all the free throws, but that’s all Denver had early DaRon Holmes got called for two more quick fouls on a rebound and a screen and had to sit, while Salaun and Ball both made shots to put Charlotte back up 18. The Nuggets and Hornets both clanked a few more shots before Watson finally got a dunk off a Pickett assist. Watson grabbed a rebound but turned it over for a Collin Sexton bucket, Miller had a Charlotte dunk, and both Pickett and Watson missed very deep threes. Mal hit a little runner, but Miller answered with a layup too as Charlotte went up 47-25. After going 2-for-15 from deep so far the Nuggets finally went inside and Zeke dunked it. Charlotte kept bombing away from deep as Miller made another, Zeke tipped in a missed Jamal shot, and Watson fought through two hard fouls to get to the line after missing shots. Kneuppel and Sexton both made buckets for Charlotte, and even Watson’s nice floater was answered by one from Sexton as Denver fell further behind, trailing 60-34 at the half with their worst first-half performance in a while.
Jamal opened the third quarter with a 20-footer one step inside the three-point line, but Bridges and Ball immediately answered. Ball then blocked a Murray three, and Charlotte kept destroying Denver on the glass, leading to another Ball three. Jamal had a baseline bucket and then got to the free throw line as he stayed aggressive, but Pickett’s jumper was answered by a Diabate dunk for the Hornets. Sloppy basketball continued in the third with exchanged turnovers and bricks, Hunter Tyson was blocked at the rim and missed a three, and Miller finally made a bucket for Charlotte to put the Hornets up 74-47 halfway through the quarter. Spencer Jones had a great steal and transition dunk for his first bucket. Miller and Salaun hit another couple of buckets, as Julian Strawther finally made a three for Denver and then a floater off a Holmes screen. Josh Green traded threes with Holmes as DaRon’s shot had a nifty Tyson behind-the-back assist, but the Nuggets still trailed 87-57 after three.
Kalkbrenner opened the fourth quarter with a hook shot that Bruce Brown answered with a transition dunk. Tyson missed a couple of threes and got called for goaltending, Holmes hit another three and Brucie B had a nice transition dunk off a Strawther steal and assist. Strawther got good minutes as he got to the line and then also made a three, and Bruce Brown’s next transition finish made it 97-74 Charlotte halfway through the quarter. Strawther’s re-emergence was one of the only bright spots though, and even his late buckets couldn’t salvage much in this one. The final score was 110-87, Charlotte.
Final Thoughts
-Just not Denver’s night. Denver had it’s biggest deficit after one quarter in almost 3 years. They only had 34 at the half when they average over 60. They were 2-for-20 from deep. Nothing was working tonight, with tired legs and a late-changing roster, and they never looked comfortable. Charlotte started the game obliterating Denver from deep, but as Denver defended the three point line they couldn’t protect the rim. Nobody had it going, and the rhythm was just bad across-the-board. The reserves had rough performances with Holmes and Nnaji both getting in early foul trouble and playing tentatively afterward, while nobody could shoot from deep to get any kind of spark going. Some nights it just doesn’t go your way. I don’t think there’s much to take from this game – Denver just looked gassed emotionally and physically. They had no reserves to draw from in their 10th game without start Nikola Jokic. Denver trailed from the jump and couldn’t find their stride. Just one of those games where you hit the showers, get some sleep and get back at it for the next game.
