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The Nuggets won a 114-104 high and low game against the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night, taking care of business on the road to win their 40th win.
The victory almost guaranteed the Nuggets would finish with a .500 or better record this season, which would prevent them from getting a winning record.
Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with 19 points, tied with Millsap and Plumlee with 13 rebounds, and led the team with eight assists, picking up where he stopped before the All-Star break to guide his team to a victory.
Luka Doncic sidelined for the Mavericks, led by Jalen Brunson and his 22 points, but was eventually overtaken by the shocking number of players on his team who are not able to pass basketball to an average of the league defense.
Jamal Murray was blocked in the first game attempt of the match, but Malik Beasley kept a triple on the next possession to take advantage. Jalen Brunson initiated the offense with Doncic, leaving the Mavericks without the option of scoring as the main ball manipulator. Dallas ran a 7-0 run that was triggered by a 3-pointer Salah Mejri, a shot attempt that was a bit of a surprise. The Nuggets took the lead on a Jokic 3 pointer, 18-17, taking advantage of the late liquidation of Dwight Powell. Monte Morris and Isaiah Thomas entered the Nuggets formation in a three-guard formation with Gary Harris alongside Jokic and Plumlee. Denver could not stop Dwight Powell, who used his athletics to beat Jokic at the rim.
Mason Plumlee started the second part with a dunk that made the rim shake, reducing the lead to three. Thomas hit in a triple triple, his first mark of the night. The guard of the Nuggets then cashed his third foul and pulled a technique of his disagreement declared with this call. Malone took it out immediately, after having seen enough. Murray started an incredible game fighting to steal, giving the ball to Barton, who did not seem to be given a pass without a rebound to Millsap, who made a deep pass. Jokic committed his third foul on the offensive and Malone brought him back on the bench as well. Millsap scored two more points and helped the Nuggets to take advantage with about two minutes to make the quarter. Denver won the quarterback, 27-21, to take a one-point lead in the locker room at half-time.
The Nuggets came out strong in the second half, making two saves and forcing Rick Carlisle into a timeout. They continued to force the Mavericks to miss strokes and rollovers, stretching their double-digit lead six minutes from the end. A Murray rider gave Denver a 13-point lead, and Dallas had to call the timeout again. Seeing the ball pass through the hoop helped create a series of success for Murray. He added another 3-pointer after a timeout and the Nuggets seemed to have a braggart look that they missed earlier in the game. Thomas came back with about two minutes and, after an offensive rebound from the Nuggets team, added a pointer to 3 to increase the Nuggets by 20 points. Plumlee launched a charge, passing through Mejri, and Trey Burke scored three points to reduce the lead to 15. Denver won the quarterback 39-23 and had a comfortable lead for the fourth quarter.
Gary Harris collected some points in the fourth quarter, getting a layup pass and sweeping Mejri's ball a few possessions later. Thomas burst into trio, causing Dorian Finney-Smith to be annoying on the way home on the court, prompting the Mavericks wing to take a rider that was missing from the corner. While the range of several guards has defense issues, when they click on the offensive, they are able to catapult the scorecard and prove that yes, three is more than two. Jokic and Juancho signed up for a few more minutes. The Serb went into a mid-range rider to score his fifteenth point of the competition. The referees left things a little out of control during a stretch, but Jokic took over for a few possessions and the Nuggets were able to win their 40th win of the season.
Three things we noticed
The range of small balls means points, points, points. The Nuggets tested the Thomas-Morris-Murray-Juancho-Jokic formation and could not stop anyone in defense, but no one could stop them in attack. It's just too much space for the teams, while at the other end of the game they have also made it easier for the other team. For this training to work, Juancho must be more active in forcing the ball players to give passes in the air, giving the guards a chance to fly the balloon in the air, and he needs to Attack more often. They had a nice appearance behind the bow, however, with Jokic catching the defense while the guards ran.
The Nuggets' defense was always on hold. The Mavericks have not exactly deployed the toughest competition the Nuggets will face in the next six weeks. Mejri shot 3-pointers, Brunson put the ball in front of the Nuggets guards and Dallas was able to get some indisputable looks on the rim. After watching the game only once, I do not know if it's just because the Nuggets play so many small queues, or they lack effort, but they have not been able to stop regularly throughout the match.
Is Jokic all right? Then it's okay. On several occasions during the match, Jokic was frustrated by the way the game was called by the referees, which had an impact on the way he played. But when he was able to not worry about serious problems, or got angry after a flagrant failed call, he was dominant. He finished on the verge of a triple-double, a few missed fumbles and missed faults to get his tenth pass. Remember, if Jokic is healthy, motivated and feels good, it will be a good game for the Nuggets.
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