The Denver Nuggets dominated offensively tonight, defeating the Atlanta Hawks 139-120.

Denver’s win streak goes to three games with the offense scoring at least 130 points in each of the last four. With Russell Westbrook in the starting lineup and Michael Porter Jr. sliding to power forward, the offense is truly humming.

Nikola Jokic finished the game with 23 points, 17 rebounds, and 15 assists, playing just three quarters in what ended up being a blowout. Jokic was +31 in the game and on pace for a 20-20-20 game if the Hawks had kept it close. He nearly had himself a first half triple-double in this game, logging 13 points, nine rebounds, and 10 assists by the end of the half. The Nuggets had logged 26 assists as a team with Jokic and Russell Westbrook accounting for 18 of them.

Westbrook finished the game with 16 points and 11 assists, linking up with Jokic on several give-and-go actions throughout the night. Those two continue to find real chemistry, playing together more and more often.

It has allowed Jamal Murray to operate more as a scorer when he staggers with the bench unit. Murray finished with 21 points, his eighth 20-point game in the last nine contests.

Michael Porter Jr. added 21 points, shooting 5-of-9 from three-point range. He had some impressive scoring possessions against rookie first overall pick Zaccharie Risacher, putting his added strength to good use.

Christian Braun had 15 points, primarily in transition. Julian Strawther had 13 points, primarily on drives and floaters. Peyton Watson had 11 points, including a tremendous alley-oop finish in transition. DeAndre Jordan and Jalen Pickett each got involved. The Nuggets had seven players in double figures, a balanced effort across the board.

It was an incredibly impressive offensive performance from the team. All they needed to do was get some semblance of defense into the contest at some point.

In the second half, the Nuggets locked in on defense, allowing just 49 points in the third and fourth quarter combined. Atlanta missed some open threes, but the Nuggets also pressure them into mistakes, rebounded the ball better, and ran on the fast break. Denver outscored Atlanta 41-24 in the third quarter, and that’s where the game was lost for the Hawks. They didn’t have enough healthy bodies or offensive options to put pressure on Denver. Trae Young finished with 30 points and nine assists, but there weren’t enough scoring options around him to keep up with the Nuggets.

As Michael Malone shared postgame, it’s pretty easy to see what the championship winning formula for the Nuggets is. Their offense has been tremendous this season. Whenever they play defense, they look like they could go somewhere.

A Semblance of Defense

Malone’s message to the team at halftime tonight: this is embarrassing.

“There were too many examples in the first half when we were just literally jogging back, and it looked like we were just trying to outscore teams,” Malone intoned. “That might work in the middle of the season. That might work for a stretch of games, but if we are going to be a team that is serious about winning at a high level and trying to make the playoffs and win a playoff series, you can’t just give up 70+ points in a half.”

The Nuggets did tighten things up later in the game, and the message was clearly received. Michael Porter Jr. shared as much postgame when asked if he felt like the team was turning a corner.

“Nah. Right now, we’re really good offensively, but to make us one of the best teams in the league like we’ve been in the past, we’ve got to get better defensively. And then, I think we have the full package and we can beat anybody. But right now, we are elite offensively and we’re very middle-of-the-pack, if not lower, defensively.”

After tonight’s game, the Nuggets rank fourth in offensive rating on Cleaning the Glass. They rank 20th in defensive rating. It’s not a surprise either. The Nuggets have missed Aaron Gordon for roughly half the season. They’re trying to figure out how to navigate the perimeter without Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. They’re trying to work in some young guys that make simple mistakes on occasion. They’re also trying to manage the regular season a bit better than last year when they gassed out in Game 7.

For Christian Braun, the team can’t worry about going any less than 100%.

“Nah, you don’t even talk about pacing yourself. That shouldn’t even be a thing,” Braun declared postgame. “Sadly, sometimes it is, and you try to stay away from that, but like I said, we’ve gotta hang our hats. I think our championship year, we did a really good job of hanging our hats on defense first, because we know we’re going to score points.”

Offense isn’t the problem with this group. They go through the occasional dry spell, but it’s hard to argue with the scoring results of late. Defensively is where the season will be won or lost. Michael Malone knows it. The players know it. The fans know it.

Can Denver find a way to play both sides of the court consistently? We will find out.

Final Rotations