The Nuggets 10-piece is the 10 things you need to know from every Denver Nuggets game from Locked On Nuggets. Here are the 10 things you need to know from the Nuggets’ first win of the season over the Toronto Raptors on Monday night…
Everyone, Take A Breath: Denver got the win and prevented a disaster loss to a rebuilding Raptors team, but it took overtime, a late comeback and an incredible drifting reverse from Jamal Murray to force OT, along with ho-hum 40-10-4 from Nikola Jokic.
Extra Effort: Denver had to really push themselves just to force overtime, and it took missed free throws from a young Raptors team. But the Nuggets absolutely played with the kind of urgency they needed to avoid a disastrous 0-3 start.
This Is 40: Jokic with another 40-piece, this time a flat 40 on 18-of-27 from the field. Joker was constantly aggressive at the rim. He took five shots outside the paint, they were all threes, he hit three of them. Just another monster performance from the MVP that will probably get lost to time but the kind of game that represents how he can take games over with scoring.
Dari-Oh-No: Dario Saric’s early season struggles continued, playing just under five minutes while the Nuggets had a 27.3 offensive rating with him on the floor. (That’s very bad.) It was so bad Malone went to Aaron Gordon at the five. In Game 3. Vs. Toronto. Yikes.
Home Cooking: Jamal Murray’s shooting line was awful, 6-of-20, but the Nuggets don’t win the game without his reverse layup or determination in overtime including a tip in and some great drives to set up Jokic. A great close better than the box for Murray back home.
Poutine Chippy: There was some unfriendly discussions in this one. Russell Westbrook gave Scottie Barnes a hard foul in transition and the two exchanged words with AG getting in the middle for a small kerfuffle.
Unfortunate: Raptors star Scottie Barnes caught an inadvertent elbow from Jokic on a rebound attempt and had to leave the game. A bummer as Barnes had 21-12-9.
Lost Battles, Won War: Denver was outscored on second-chance points, points off turnovers, points in the paint, and fastbreak points. Oh, and Toronto made one more three.
Christian’s Edge: CB continued his great start to the season with 17 points, tied for second-most on Denver with Murray, on 6-of-11 shooting and a plus-8. Denver misses KCP, but not because of CB’s play, which has been tremendous on both ends.
Bad Spot: The Nuggets have their first back-to-back on Wednesday vs. the Nets. Brooklyn’s been peskier than expected, and teams who go to overtime and play back-to-back are just 8-27 in the second game since 2014.
