A new head coach, and a new result.
The Denver Nuggets snapped their six game losing streak (and their ten-game home losing streak) Tuesday night, beating the Milwaukee Bucks 106-95 in interim head coach Melvin Hunt’s first game after taking over for the disposed Brian Shaw.
“When you have an injury like that, you get your shot back, you get your ball-handling back, but you don’t get used to crowds, people ripping at the basketball or bumping you,” said Hunt after the game. “He’s gradually getting used to that.”
Fair or not, it was obvious from the start of the game that the Nuggets packed more energy than usual. Danilo Gallinari in particular started out red-hot, netting Denver’s first eight points and finished with a team-high 26 points. It wasn’t just his three-point shot (although he did go 4-9 from downtown), but his willingness to drive towards the hole that made him so effective. He finished with zero assists, but there were a number of possessions where he bent the defense towards him (a drive in the third quarter that ended in a Foye corner three particularly stands out).
Kenneth Faried also looked like he had more pep in his step than usual – he got on the ground for loose balls in the first quarter, and finished with 14 points and 16 rebounds, his first double-double since February 9th.
The Nuggets shot 52.2 percent from the field in the first – but allowed Milwaukee to shoot 55 percent, thanks in large part to their excellent bench play. The Bucks bench had 15 points in the first, led by the combination of Jerryd Bayless and John Henson each had five in the quarter.
The Nuggets had a lead going by halftime, in large part because of the work of Faried and Gallinari, but the entire rotation was involved tonight. The ball movement was the best it’s been in a long time – Denver had 16 assists by halftime, compared with just 17 in Sunday’s loss.
Denver finished with 26 assists, their most exactly a month.
Ty Lawson got things going late in the game after posting just four points in the first half. He finished with 16 points and ten assists and just one turnover.
For the Bucks, forward Ersan Illyasova finished with a team-high 21 points, and Giannis Antetokounmp had 19 points and 11 rebounds.
The Nuggets will try and keep the good vibes going as they head out on the road to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves Wednesday. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. MT.
