If you’ve been following the Denver Nuggets this season, it hasn’t been hard to realize what the strategy has been for the young team: attempt to score more baskets than the opposing team and worry about the rest when they get there.
You’d also know that defense hasn’t been much of importance for the team as they’re the 29th ranked defense in the league, so when they faced big men Anthony Davis, DeMarcus Cousins and the New Orleans Pelicans in a winner still has a chance at making the playoffs game, you just knew that it would be high scoring.
Well, that it was and more as the Nuggets prevailed, winning 134-131 despite Cousins going for 30 points and Anthony Davis putting up 41.
For the Nuggets it was about making big plays when they needed to and none were as big as the plays made in the 4th quarter by Gary Harris.
Harris finished with 23 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals. One of the memorable plays is the contested 3-pointer that gave the Nuggets an eight-point lead with under three minutes to play in regulation. What the box score doesn’t show is the impact that Harris made on the defensive end, especially down the stretch.
With so much scoring going on for and against Denver, it’s hard to peg somebody as having a “good” defensive year, but what Gary Harris has been doing all season long has been stellar on the defensive end from an individual standpoint and Tuesday night’s game, as high scoring as it was, he came through yet again.
“Like I been saying all season, I think he’s one of the better young two-way players in the NBA,” said Malone. “He takes that challenge on and obviously for him to come up with those timely defensive plays is a credit to him and helped us get the win.”
The timely plays he’s referring to is Harris’ late game defensive heroics when Denver allowed their nine point fourth quarter lead to vanish. After a few plays it ended up with Pelicans getting the opportunity to be able to take the game winning shot, only one thing. A shot was never put up as Gary Harris forced Jrue Holiday into a backcourt violation. One of his few forced turnovers late in the fourth.
“Gary has great instincts, he anticipates and he has great hands,” said Malone as he credited his defensive tenacity to his football background. “That’s why he was an All-American football player coming out of high school, [he] could’ve went anywhere in the country.”
Harris also believes that his football background has a bit to do with why he’s so aggressive defensively. When asked about what he thinks it impacts most, he said: “my reaction time,” before saying “I can see stuff [that’s] about to happen.”
With the win, Gary Harris gave his team another day in the playoff hunt as the Portland Trail Blazers loss to the Utah Jazz, moving the Nuggets just a half game behind the Blazers.
Harris knows how if Denver wants to continue on their quest to make the playoffs that things have to change defensively saying “we have to get better defensively but. . a wins a win”.
It worked against New Orleans, who with the loss was officially eliminated from playoff contention, but the team must get it together defensively if they plan to continue making a playoff run, especially when they play a team like Houston Rockets on Wednesday night, not even 24 hours after playing in a high scoring hard-fought affair.
When Harris was asked how he plans to slow down James Harden, he smiled and said, ”I don’t know; I better get some rest.”
