The Denver Nuggets started the primary half of their home-and-home recreation in opposition to the Phoenix Suns at Ball Area on Monday night time. Each groups have been shorthanded, with the Nuggets lacking Jamal Murray and the Suns lacking Devin Booker. The opposite stars on each groups did their half, however the Nuggets had much more help, together with a really robust night time from their group of younger reserves. Nikola Jokic and Michael Porter Jr. did the heavy lifting and that pair plus the younger bench was a system for a blowout as Denver gained 117-90.
Phoenix took an early lead by sharing the ball amongst its starters, whereas Denver did not get a ton of straightforward pictures, however hit its three-pointers to remain shut. Porter received off to a very good begin to preserve Denver afloat halfway via the primary however their collective protection was missing. MPJ was relentless, an and-one put him at twelve factors within the quarter and tied it at seventeen. Jalen Pickett and Hunter Tyson received minutes within the first recreation to go away Denver’s lineup as Jokic + the bench. There wasn’t a lot offense outdoors of the Joker, however the protection was strong and that allowed the Nuggets to take the lead. After one quarter, it was 27-26 for Denver.
Completely positioned pic.twitter.com/vqMcDZ6iEB
-Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) December 24, 2024
There wasn’t a lot offense to talk of early within the second quarter, however the bench unit’s protection continued to be spectacular. They stored Phoenix from scoring a degree for over two minutes and made every little thing tough. Pickett made a robust shift particularly for the reserve group and helped push the result in 5 earlier than Russell Westbrook and Jokic got here again (Jokic instantly buried a 3). Shortly after their return, Jokic was stepped on by Jusuf Nurkic and gave the impression to be in ache however remained within the match. After that, Durant started attending to the free throw line to spark an 11-0 Phoenix run and briefly give the Suns the lead once more. Denver’s starters responded, Jokic began making Nurkic need to name him “enterprise” and the Nuggets regained the lead. After two quarters, they led 55-51.
Braun throws to the bottom ⏬ pic.twitter.com/xI4ZtEJr39
-Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) December 24, 2024
Jokic and Porter returned to start out the second half. After a Westbrook jam pushed the result in eleven, the Suns have been pressured to take an early timeout. Phoenix stopped the bleeding after that, but additionally wasn’t in a position to make a lot progress on Denver’s lead. Westbrook got here alive and led an brisk shift for the starters that would have opened the sport with out Bradley Beal. Aaron Gordon received into the motion flattening a three-pointer and all of a sudden the lead was over twenty. Denver’s protection received a little bit lazy after that and Phoenix was in a position to chip away on the lead a bit. They introduced it again to inside fifteen, however a robust closeout within the ultimate minute allowed Denver to regain the higher hand. After three minutes, they led 100-79.
TAKE THIS TO GO pic.twitter.com/r8WetN9thk
-Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) December 24, 2024
Michael Malone opened the fourth with a DeAndre Jordan and the child lineup (Pickett, Julian Strawther, Tyson, Peyton Watson) and so they struggled to attain however as soon as once more had sufficient protection to maintain the Suns at bay . Strawther knocked down a couple of threes and was principally the one one getting factors till Tyson, who was as energetic as ever, nailed a rebound after which went coast-to-coast with an enormous jam. The DJ + bench group continued to play strong minutes and finally made time an element as they held a twenty-plus lead till the center of the fourth. Malone cleared the bench and gave the two-way contract guys some taking part in time with just below 4 minutes left. They stored the power up and Denver gained large, 117-90.
A 3rd triple for Julian 🪣 pic.twitter.com/XFsyKg2fPI
-Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) December 24, 2024
Jokic and Porter have been a two-headed monster
With out Murray, the Nuggets wanted Porter to step up tonight and that is precisely what he did. He got here out aggressive and wasn’t afraid to go blow for blow with Durant, an all-time nice. He carried Denver for giant elements of the sport and when he wasn’t, it was Nikola as a substitute. Joker was in a little bit of a scoring droop tonight, but it surely did not final. He led all scorers with thirty-two factors and scored 4 of six from the three-point line. Nurkic seemed fully helpless at occasions and rapidly received into hassle attempting to include the three-time MVP. Denver additionally ran with assist from different guys, however Porter and Jokic have been the gamers they might depend on persistently to get buckets after they wanted them. This exhibits how useful a man like MPJ might be when he is the middle of the offense and taking part in in opposition to an all-time nice like Nikola.
The younger bench succeeds
SLAM HUNTER pic.twitter.com/J8FNmBxUPN
-Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) December 24, 2024
Malone leaned closely on his younger reserves tonight, that includes his bench group made up solely of his veteran regular in Jordan and gamers with lower than three full seasons of NBA expertise. It hasn’t all the time been fairly on the offensive finish, however this group introduced constant power and give attention to protection to maintain Phoenix from taking the lead. Denver’s two 2023 second-round picks, Pickett and Tyson, each had good video games. You could possibly see Pickett’s confidence rising as the sport went on and he seemed like an NBA backup level guard tonight. Tyson did not rating a lot however introduced a ton of power to the ground and helped shore up one among Denver’s largest weaknesses: defensive rebounding. If these two guys can proceed to place collectively strong rotation minutes, it will likely be an absolute boon for Denver.
