The Denver Nuggets put in a tenacious defensive effort as they held the Detroit Pistons to just 84 total points on Tuesday night as Jamal Murray and Mason Plumlee led the way offensively carrying the Nuggets to a huge 103 to 84 win in downtown Detroit.
Before the game, Nuggets’ head coach Michael Malone stressed the importance of Denver’s defensive approach to Detroit’s pick and roll action. It wasn’t just about shutting down the roller — Drummond — but also staying aware of the shooters lurking behind the action. The Nuggets stuck to their defensive game plan as they held Tobias Harris and Avery Bradley to a combined 0-4 shooting performance in the first quarter. Mason Plumlee turned in a terrific defensive effort against Andre Drummond as well, holding him to just one point in the first frame.
With the lynchpins of their offense struggling mightily, Detroit’s offensive scheme fell by the wayside. They looked panicked and confused offensively while Denver forced 10 first-quarter turnovers. The quarter was best encapsulated by a three-second stretch in which Denver forced two quick turnovers and converted them into five points — all of them coming from Murray. Denver turned it over five times themselves, but they crushed Detroit with points off of turnovers on their way to a 26-18 lead after one.
The story in the second quarter was Detroit’s bench — particularly Boban Marjanovic. Due to Marjanovic’s size, Malone left Kenneth Faried on the bench — opting for Darrell Arthur instead — but Arthur couldn’t contain Boban. The big man scored 11 of Detroit’s 22 first-half bench points in just nine minutes. Arthur struggled offensively as well as he turned it over four times in his eight minutes of play. Arthur’s struggles and Denver’s five second-quarter turnovers allowed the Pistons to engineer a 7-0 run and cut the lead down to 33-30.
When the starters checked back in for both teams, Denver picked up right where they left off. Detroit’s offense stalled once again — managing just 10 points for the remainder of the quarter.
Harris held Bradley to just four points on 1-7 shooting on the half. Harris, a strong contender for Most Improved Player, failed to score at all in the first 24 minutes. He turned it over four times in the first half as well. Drummond struggled too; he was held to just five points on 1-3 shooting. Denver led 49-40 after one half of basketball.
The Nuggets slammed the pedal to the floor in the second half. Plumlee took on the role of facilitator as he conducted the offense from the high post and out near the three-point line. It was one of Plumlee’s best performances of the season, but the quarter belonged to Murray. The former Kentucky Wildcat dropped 13 points in the third frame on a ludicrous 7-9 from the field. He punctuated a spectacular quarter with a jaw-dropping dunk over Reggie Jackson, which sucked the life out of the arena entirely.
Denver dropped 31 in the quarter as they held the Pistons to just 20 points — the third-straight quarter in which Detroit failed to surpass 22 total points. Denver held an 80-60 lead headed into the fourth.
The game was pretty much out of hand in the fourth, but Murray slammed the door shut as he finished with 28 points on the night. Mason Plumlee finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds while Trey Lyles added 20 points in 27 minutes off the bench. The Nuggets improve to 15-12 on the year and 5-10 on the road. They’ll have their work cut out for them Wednesday night as they travel to Boston for the second half of a back-to-back against the first place Celtics.
