The Denver Nuggets (8-5) won their third-straight and seventh of their last nine on Saturday night against the Orlando Magic (8-5), 125-107. It was the third time the Nuggets have scored over 120 points through their first 12 games of the season.
The teams traded blows throughout the opening minutes of the game, but Denver established a big lead by the end of the first quarter and never looked back. On their way to their best offensive half of basketball of the season, they led 39-23 after one. After two quarters, the Nuggets had a 70-47 lead.
It was an offensive clinic for the Nuggets starting five with point guard Jamal Murray leading the way. The ‘Blue Arrow’ set a new career-high with 32 points, including 16 in the first quarter. He shot 12 of 21 from the field and made six of nine shots from beyond the arc in the win.
Starting shooting guard Gary Harris missed the game with a sore shoulder after an injury late in the fourth quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night. Will Barton stepped up in a big way in Gary’s absence, combining with Murray, the Nuggets’ backcourt poured in 58 points. Barton tallied 26 points, nine rebounds and five assists in the win.
Nikola Jokic continued a stretch of impressive play as well, as he and Paul Millsap continue to mesh together on the floor. ‘The Joker’ logged 12 points, 17 rebounds, eight assists, three steals, and a block en route to his eighth double-double in 10 games. Six Nuggets finished in double figures, including all five starters and backup point guard Emmanuel Mudiay. Mudiay has scored in double figures off the bench in 10 of 12 games in 2017.
All of Denver’s starters were magnificent on the offensive side of things, accounting for 99 of the Nuggets points. The team shot 52.9 percent from the field and 41.4 percent from three-point distance, collectively. More impressive was the +14 rebounding margin that Denver amassed by the end of the game.
The Nuggets did a great job taking care of the basketball, committing just 12 turnovers while dishing out 29 assists. After the game, Head Coach Michael Malone attributed ball movement as a large part of Denver’s success.
The win solidified a 5-1 record for the Nuggets on their season-long six-game homestand, which included wins over the Toronto Raptors and the Oklahoma City Thunder. In addition, Denver managed to raise their record to 8-5 on the season. Denver has 15 of their next 23 on the road to close out 2017.
The Nuggets are off Sunday before traveling to Portland on Monday to take on the Trail Blazers. Portland was the team that edged out the Nuggets for the eighth seed in the Western Conference playoffs in 2016.
For a full recap of the game, watch the video below…
