“Give them credit. They played well and we sucked.”
That about sums it up from David Adelman, who watched the Denver Nuggets suffer their worst home loss since the 1998 Chicago Bulls with Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen defeated a Nuggets squad that won 11 total games that season. Denver lost 142-103 to the New York Knicks, who were far and away the better team on Denver’s home floor.
This season, the Nuggets had been waiting and waiting for health to come their way and finally appeared ready to run with the opportunity. Yes, the team was on the second night of a back-to-back, but they were getting back all three of Aaron Gordon, Cam Johnson, and Spencer Jones at the same time to battle a strong Knicks team.
Unfortunately, the Knicks had other ideas, and the Nuggets suffered another major injury to boot.
The best moment of the game happened before it even started. Aaron Gordon was introduced to the Nuggets crowd who went absolutely crazy for his return. It was a great moment, and the crowd’s energy (along with 9 quick points from Jamal Murray) helped the Nuggets out to an 11-2 start.
It was all downhill from there though. Gordon exited early on his minutes restriction, and the moment Denver started making substitutions was when this game fell apart. The Nuggets struggled to end the first quarter and saw their lead cut to just two points.
Then, the second quarter began, and the beatdown started in earnest. The Nuggets were clearly uncomfortable with the new rotations, playing a Jamal Murray, Bruce Brown, Julian Strawther, Spencer Jones, and Aaron Gordon lineup that hadn’t seen the light of day for a while. Rather than go back to Jokic, Adelman subbed in Jonas Valanciunas for the first time for two minutes. That stretch didn’t go well either, and the momentum had well and truly slipped from the Nuggets by the time Jokic returned.
The story to end the first half was the Murray injury. While the Nuggets were on defense, OG Anunoby drove into Murray’s chest, causing him to retreat and step back onto Jokic’s foot. Murray rolled his left ankle badly and was on the ground for a while in severe pain. He was helped off the floor to the locker room, and the Nuggets finished the game without him.
For Denver though, the game was already done. Jokic did his best as a scorer with 38 points, including a very impressive third quarter scoring. It wasn’t enough though as the Nuggets struggled to convert open threes from the opening tip. In addition to the scoring issues without Murray, the Nuggets defense was abhorrent. The Knicks got wherever they wanted to go with Jokic guarding a Jalen Brunson-Josh Hart pick and roll for much of the night, and with so much help in the paint, OG Anunoby shined once again vs Denver for 34 efficient points.
The other issue: the Nuggets lack of size in many of their lineups. The Nuggets played small consistently despite returning several forwards. Christian Braun slid to power forward in lineups featuring Tim Hardaway Jr. and Bruce Brown, but Denver’s lack of size in those situations hurt them on the defensive glass and protecting the rim. Mitchell Robinson had 4 offensive rebounds in the first half alone, and the Knicks scored an embarrassing 76 points in the paint.
The Knicks ran away with this game, and the Nuggets provided very little resistance in the second half. They scored 77 points in the half and 115 if one were to include the second quarter as well. Denver scored 103 on the night and just looked like a shell of themselves at exactly the wrong time, despite returning reinforcements.
“I mean, hopefully don’t quit,” Nikola Jokic said about what he hoped the team could improve upon bad energy. “I think this is the first time in a long time that we kind of quit.”
After such an encouraging win against the Los Angeles Lakers the night before, the Nuggets turned around and lost all good will with this performance. There were reasons for it with a back-to-back, a tough matchup vs a Knicks squad that has had their number, and of course the Murray injury. It’s hard to give them much grace though. This was supposed to be the time when they locked back in, and it never happened.
Gordon ultimately struggled in his return, scoring 3 points on 1-of-7 from the field. His only made shot was a dunk for the first points of the game. That moment seems very far away after the rest of the game unfolded.
The Murray injury sucks. The Nuggets intended starting lineup play five minutes and seven seconds together tonight. That’s all they will probably play for a while too. The Nuggets didn’t give an update on the Murray injury, and perhaps it’s better than it looked. More likely is an absence of weeks rather than days.
“I think we’ve had pretty good resilience across the board,” Christian Braun shared of Denver’s ability to withstand injuries this season, “but seeing Jamal go down, just for how well he’s played and the kind of leader he’s been this year for us and a guy that’s played really, really well…it sucks to see him go down.”
The Nuggets have been without Murray before, just not this season. They’re less prepared for his absence than in prior seasons when they had a stand-in backup point guard. Denver started Braun and Julian Strawther in the backcourt in the second half next to Johnson, Gordon, and Jokic. That might be Denver’s starting group going forward, especially with Strawther’s scoring skill set and improvements across the board.
The Nuggets also have Bruce Brown, Tyus Jones, and Jalen Pickett as options, as well as Peyton Watson when he inevitably returns from injury in the next few games himself. David Adelman will have plenty of options, but finding the right fit will be essential.
There’s no rest for the weary here. The Nuggets get a couple days off before they face the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, and San Antonio Spurs in 3 games in 4 days. That’s a serious challenge, one the Nuggets will have to face together.
Last year, Murray suffered a short term injury right before things spiraled and Michael Malone and Calvin Booth were fired. The Nuggets must make up for his absence better than then. If not, there will be no momentum heading into perhaps the most important playoff run of the last three seasons.
