After a 31-point loss on Tuesday night against the Golden Sate Warriors, the Denver Nuggets bounced back in a big way Thursday with a 30-point victory over the Chicago Bulls.
With the win, Denver’s record moves to 30-14, which puts them a half game behind Golden State for first place in the Western Conference. It was also Denver’s 19th win at home this season as they have now won 13 of their last 14 games at the Pepsi Center.
So, without further ado, lets dive into the five takeaways from what was a dominating performance from the Nuggets.
Nuggets ride their three-point shooting to victory
Anytime you make 20 three-pointers in a game, you have a good chance of walking away victorious. That is exactly what occurred on Thursday night as the Nuggets shot a scorching 20-of-40 from beyond the arc to help lead them to victory. Jamal Murray led the way for Denver with seven three-pointers — six coming in there third quarter alone — but we will get to more of his night later on.
All five of our starters are in double-digit points. https://t.co/SLc6Jt5md1
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) January 18, 2019
Seven players in total made at least one three-pointer for Denver, while Torrey Craig was the next closest to Murray with four triples of his own. Paul Millsap, Malik Beasley, Trey Lyles, and Garry Harris all had two threes a pice, while Nikola Jokic was surprisingly the only Nuggets starter who did not make a three-pointer (0-3).
The Nuggets 20 three-pointers was just the fourth time they have accomplished that in franchise history. It was he second time Denver has done it against the Bulls as they poured in 20 threes in their game against Chicago last March.
Jamal Murray catches fire in the blink of an eye
After scoring just three points in the first half, Murray caught fire in the third quarter with a 22-point barrage that helped lead Denver to victory. Led by his six three-pointers in the period, Murray’s big quarter helped seal the game for Denver as Chicago was just decimated going into the final 12 minutes of play.
“It’s good, man. It’s good to see, it’s good basketball and it’s not forced. You know, he’s playing the game, he’s setting screens, he’s setting rough screens and coming off screens and he’s playing the game,” Millsap told the media on Murray’s big night. “You can tell, you know, he’s locked in and playing well. When he plays like that, you know, we find him.”
For the game, Murray finished with 25 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field, 7-of-11 from three-point range. The beauty of Murray’s big quarter was that it also allowed him to rest the entire fourth quarter, which he certainly earned with his performance.
Denver shares the ball at an extremely high level
It is one thing to be making shots at an extreme rate, but when you are doing it as a team it makes the end result much easier. That is exactly what the Nuggets did on Thursday night as they dished out 30-plus assists for the second game in a row. Sharing the basketball is key to Denver’s success as they have now won 22 of their last 26 games when they distribute at least 30 assists.
The Plumdog elegance. https://t.co/D1gF9FNk0v
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) January 18, 2019
During Michael Malone’s tenure with the Nuggets they are now 45-11 in 30-plus assist games. Another interesting stat from Denver’s assist numbers is that the franchise has won 53 of their last 55 games when they have at least 34 assists. The moral of the story is that the stats do not lie and when the Nuggets are sharing the ball, they are almost always winning games.
Nikola Jokic comes oh so close to another triple-double
Coming into Thursday night with five triple-doubles on the year, Jokic was just two rebounds away from collecting his sixth of the season. Finishing the night with 18 points, 11 assists, and eight rebounds, Jokic sat for the entire fourth quarter, which made it difficult for him to collect those two boards by not being on the floor.
https://twitter.com/nuggets/status/1086095472324800512
Even though he did not finish with a triple-double, Jokic still finished with a double-double for the 29th time this season. Jokic also accomplished another tremendous feat as he became just the second player in NBA history (Magic Johnson) with 18-plus points, 8-plus rebounds and 11-plus assists in 26 minutes or less. Not bad company for Jokic as he continues to be a huge component in the Nuggets success this season.
Gary Harris returns to action and makes his presence felt in a big way
After missing five games with left hamstring tightness, Harris returned to action Thursday night and showed no ill effects of the injury that forced him to miss over a week. Finishing the night with 14 points on an efficient 6-of-11 shooting, Harris came off the bench and provided Denver with an instant spark. Harris chipped in two three-pointers and two assists in his 19 minutes off the bench to help get Denver back into the win column.
G
FOR
THREE https://t.co/q23DFH4NSx
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) January 18, 2019
With the Nuggets finally getting back to full-strength as far as their health is concerned, it was great to see Harris back out there with little to no rust. If the Nuggets want to sustain their success moving forward, Harris is certainly going to play a major role in that and if Thursday night’s game was any indication, I’d say they are going to be just fine.