It wasn’t looking awesome for the Denver Nuggets in the first half. Then, they turned on the jets in the third quarter.

The Nuggets defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 127-102 on the second night of a back-to-back. They used an improbable 37-15 third quarter to reclaim the momentum, running the Lakers off their own floor. Denver outscored Los Angeles 70-39 in the second half.

Three big contributors for the Nuggets in the second half especially: Nikola Jokic, Michael Porter Jr., and Russell Westbrook.

Nikola Jokic was excellent throughout the game, keeping the Nuggets in the first half with 19 points scored. He finished with 33 points, 14 rebounds, and eight assists, outworking the entire Lakers frontline up and down the court. Anthony Davis, who has been receiving some quiet MVP chatter in various circles, was nowhere to be found against Jokic. The big Serbian shot 12-of-20 from the field and was a +39 in his 37 minutes. Davis, by comparison, shot 6-of-19 tonight and was bothered by Jokic’s defense.

Michael Porter Jr. was awesome in the third quarter especially, dominating several aspects of the game and taking over as a scorer. He had 24 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists on the evening, shooting 10-of-15 from the field and 4-of-7 from three. Porter was unbothered by the Lakers defense, who have zero good defensive matchups for him on their roster. The passing is also notable with Porter. He’s now averaging 3.0 assists per game on the season, a minimal improvement for some, but a big step for Porter in seeing the floor and making others better.

Then, there’s Russell Westbrook, who said it best himself after a big three-pointer in the fourth quarter to effectively end the game.

Westbrook has a lot of energy when facing these Los Angeles Lakers with LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and others. It had to feel good to play well tonight with 14 points, seven rebounds, and 11 assists off the bench. He was awesome overall and deserves a ton of credit for his mentality.

Elsewhere, Christian Braun shot 7-of-7 from the field and din’t even make the “A” block for me. That’s how normalized his contributions are for the Nuggets right now. He had 16 points, two rebounds, and three assists, and was simply a trustworthy option at all times.

Peyton Watson spent the majority of his night guarding LeBron James. He gives up a lot of size to the King, but LeBron didn’t fare much better than Davis tonight, putting up 18 points on 17 shots, seven assists, and six turnovers.

Dario Saric was a -12 in four minutes in the second quarter and didn’t impact the game at all. So, DeAndre Jordan got off the bench in the fourth quarter and did well in limited minutes. Denver’s backup center spot is back to roulette wheel status.

Julian Strawther lost a tooth early from a D’Angelo Russell elbow. Jamal Murray got raked across the eye by Davis. Both players returned to the game, but both were scary moments. Strawther hit a couple threes but didn’t do much else. Murray had another “rough around the edges” night, but 14 points, five assists, and five rebounds on 5-of-12 from the field was fine with Jokic and Porter playing the way they were. He did miss four free throws tonight though. Something to monitor.

Overall, a magical night for Denver in Los Angeles.

This one’s for Michael, not Mike

Tonight, Michael Malone set the all-time franchise record for the Denver Nuggets with 433 regular season wins, passing the great Doug Moe.

Malone had already passed Moe before the season when combining regular season and playoffs, but this officially makes Malone the winningest coach in franchise history. A massive honor and a symbol of Denver’s championship caliber continuity.

Malone doesn’t get a lot of credit for his efforts in Denver, or at least, not as much as he probably should get. There’s nobody in the Nuggets organization that works harder, cares more, and lives or dies by Denver’s results day to day. Malone, as evidenced by how hoarse his voice often is after a game, leaves everything out on the court.

So, how fitting that he returns to where the Nuggets advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history, Denver’s home away from home in Los Angeles of late. It wasn’t always like this, especially when LeBron first got to LA. The Lakers often defeated Denver in heartbreaking moments before the championship season. But after that point, things have turned around in a big way.

Jokic can and should always get the most amount of credit. He’s unbelievable, a future Top 10 All-Time player. How many great coaches have taught the greatest though? Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Shaquille O’Neal had Phil Jackson. O’Neal, LeBron, and Dwyane Wade had Erik Spoelstra. Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had Pat Riley. Tim Duncan had Gregg Popovich. Bill Russell had Red Auerbach. Stephen Curry had Steve Kerr.

The list goes on and on. Great NBA coaches are often aided by great NBA players. It’s not always about the best defensive schemes, the best at drawing up offensive plays, or anything like that. It’s about getting great players to buy in and be the best they can be, to work with what you have and maximize talent.

Michael Malone has done that. He has done it so well that it’s become hidden behind a player reaching all-time great status. Is he the greatest head coach in NBA history? Probably not. He’s one that the players respect though. He’s someone the players are willing to go to battle with. That’s rare in the NBA for a full decade.

Congratulations, coach. Enjoy the night on the town in Los Angeles. Spend some time with the kids.

Final Rotations