Denver just fell short in a game that went down to the wire.
The Denver Nuggets lost 124-119 to the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night. This was Denver’s third loss in four games. The Nuggets are now 10-5 on the season. Though, they’re just 3-5 on the road with another road game coming up against the Houston Rockets on Friday.
“That’s a game that we should have won,” said head coach Michael Malone. “We did not make enough plays down the stretch on either end.”
Nikola Jokić had an absolutely outrageous performance with 30 points on 12-of-18 shooting, 12 assists, and 13 rebounds. This was Jokić’s sixth triple-double of the season.
Michael Porter Jr. continued to shoot the ball well and finished with 25 points on 5-of-9 from deep.
Christian Braun had 13 points off the bench on 4-of-7 from the field. This was Braun’s fifth straight game scoring double-digit points.
Braun was the only bright spot on Denver’s bench. Nuggets reverses got outscored by the Magic’s backups, 58-25. Denver also struggled to defend near the rim and allowed 60 points in the painted area. Their defense also surrendered 42 points in the fourth quarter.
“They’re one of the best teams in the NBA in terms of living in the paint,” said Malone. “So, that’s where you need great one-on-one containment and discipline. Who am I guarding? Which way does he like to drive? Know their tendencies. Then, you have to shrink the floor and not leave guys on an island. If you’re guarding a great player, I have to make sure that I’m helping you behind that so that ball sees a crowd. And we didn’t have enough examples of that tonight.”
Denver’s starters were in lockstep to begin the game and quickly went on a 13-5 run to build a 7-point lead. Both Aaron Gordon and Porter Jr. finished the quarter with 7 points, with MPJ doing it on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting line. Orlando went on a 15-6 run of their own when the Mile High reserves checked in, and both teams finished the first quarter tied up at 28.
The starters once again stabilized things in the second quarter and put up ample highlights. Porter Jr. hit a deep pull-up three-pointer off a hang dribble and between-the-legs move. Gordon and Jokić connected late in the period for an inverted pick-and-roll, with Jokić handling the ball and Gordon screening and rolling. Behind those highlights, Denver entered the second half with a 62-56 lead.
Franz Wagner came alive in the third quarter and put up 15 points on a perfect 7-of-7 shooting line. Rookie Julian Strawther subbed in and quickly notched 7 points off a floater out of a designed play and a three-pointer out of a Spain pick-and-roll set. Denver entered the fourth quarter with an 88-82 lead.
The Magic began the fourth on a 16-5 run as Denver’s defense crumbled. The Nuggets got outhustled on the glass numerous times, and they had miscues when talking through assignments. But then Jokić took things personally and started targeting some of Orlando’s smaller players on bruising post-ups. The Joker put the team on his back with a ridiculous 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting in the period.
Orlando went on an 8-0 run at the start of crunch time, but then Denver stopped the bleeding with a three-pointer from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope out of a gorgeous out-of-bounds set. Still, the Magic clung on to a three-point lead until the final 20 seconds when Jokić made a layup. With so little time left, the Nuggets were forced to foul, and Goga Bitadze hit both free throws. Down three, Denver had one last chance but was unable to get it done.
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