The Denver Nuggets played their third Christmas Day game of the last four seasons today, matching up with Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors in a matinee affair. After a back-and-forth battle that saw some very weird stat lines, the Nuggets ultimately won the game 120-114 on the strength of their three-point defense.
Jamal Murray finished the game with 28 points and made several plays down the stretch to help the Nuggets achieve a victory.
FOURTH QUARTER JAMAL 🏹 pic.twitter.com/n8LkKnIIKw
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) December 25, 2023
Michael Malone was happy with Denver’s defensive effort postgame, crediting Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Michael Porter Jr. specifically.
“To hold Steph to 7-of-21 from the field, 3-of-13 from three…just an outstanding job by KCP. Watching him tonight was – if that guy’s not considered one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA, I don’t know who is.”
Caldwell-Pope and Porter made big plays throughout the day defensively. Caldwell-Pope only finished with two steals, but his energy level sticking to Curry was extremely high. Porter finished the game with 10 rebounds and four blocks, impacting the game defensively on both the interior and perimeter, blocking Klay Thompson’s jump shot multiple times.
“I thought Michael Porter was really good tonight. He had the 10 boards and the four blocks, closing out and using his length,” Malone shared postgame. “When Michael does this (Malone sticks both hands in the air) he’s a difference maker.”
“It’s important because you can’t jump into guys,” shared Michael Porter postgame. “[High hands] really does make a difference when guys do it to me. Against this team, it’s especially important because they can all shoot from so deep.”
The Nuggets needed every bit of this defensive performance. The Warriors still scored 114 points anyway despite Denver’s efforts because of their bench execution. The Warriors combined for 57 points off the bench with Andrew Wiggins leading the entire team with 22 points. The Warriors demolished Denver’s bench unit, and it caused Malone and the Nuggets to greatly alter bench rotations. Aaron Gordon played backup center, and Jamal Murray replaced Reggie Jackson entering the fourth quarter.
My brother just shared this stat with me, and it’s wild.
The Nuggets bench had zero rebounds today in 59 minutes, the most minutes in NBA history without recording a single board. pic.twitter.com/nERrwvvJIS
— Ryan Blackburn (@NBABlackburn) December 25, 2023
Porter, on top of his defensive contributions, also led the team at +23 in the plus-minus department. He had 19 points, catching fire once again in the first quarter and dunking on Jonathan Kuminga. The Nuggets continued to feed Porter throughout the game, and the efficiency dried up a bit, but it was still nice to see him play extended minutes (just over 40 minutes) and remain involved on both ends throughout the contest.
Michael Porter Jr. is a STAR pic.twitter.com/1opFve8hHU
— Swipa (@SwipaCam) December 25, 2023
Still, not everybody was happy that Jokic finally got to the free throw line. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr sounded off on the officiating post game.
Steve Kerr sounds off after Nikola Jokic’s 18 free throws: “I have a problem with the way we are legislating defense out of the game.We’re just enabling players to BS their way to the foul line. If I were a fan, I wouldn’t have wanted to watch the second half. It was disgusting.” pic.twitter.com/YBWuldi0Za
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) December 25, 2023
“Just trying to have fun out there,” shared Jamal Murray post game. “It was a good gift for everybody, and it will be nice to go home to our families now.”
Merry Christmas from Mile High Sports everyone.
Final Rotations
