CHICAGO — The Nuggets throttled the (shell of the) Chicago Bulls Wednesday night 135-102, a game Denver led by as many as 41 points and in which the primary source of entertainment was the large contingent of Serbian fans on hand to watch .
Here are six takeaways from the game:
1. Offensive explosion. Denver’s point total and 61.4 field-goal percentage were both its third-highest this season, while the Nuggets’ 20 made 3-pointers were their second-highest through 72 games. Seven players scored in a double figures in a game in which the starters did not play the final 12 minutes. But coach Michael Malone was most pleased to see (8-of-9 from the floor for 22 points) and (7-of-9 for 16 points) get going again. Millsap scored 11 of his points during a three-minute stretch in the fourth quarter while aggressively attacking inside, including an old-fashioned 3-point play. Barton assertively knocked down his first 3-pointer less than two minutes into the game and kept rolling from there.
“I didn’t feel like I had a monkey on my back,” Barton said of his recent struggles from the floor. “Just keep shooting. I came into the game confident. I come into every game confident. I don’t even think about it that much. Just try to play winning basketball and make plays for my team.”
With 10 games to go, the Nuggets rank sixth in the NBA in offensive rating (109.5 points per 100 possessions), eighth in field-goal percentage (47.1), seventh in 3-point field-goal percentage (37.2) and fourth in assists (25 per game).
2. Defense tightens. For the first five minutes, as Malone said, “nobody defended.” A shorthanded Chicago team playing without Lauri Markkanen, Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine and Robin Lopez made its first four 3-point attempts, primarily due to a lack of getting back in transition, identifying shooters and communication amongst teammates. But after that initial outburst, the Bulls made five total shots from beyond the arc until the fourth quarter. Chicago shot 39.7 percent overall through the first three periods.
“Once we nipped that in bud, we were able to get some stops,” Millsap said of those Chicago 3-pointers. “Thatap what we gotta do. I think our offense is always gonna be there. Itap gonna be whether we get stops is whatap gonna be the determining factor on whether we get a win or not … Confidence is a big key in our defense, knowing that we can stop people at any given time.”
3. Invisible scoreboard? What does a coach say when his team is up by 31 points at halftime? Don’t look at the scoreboard. Denver won the third period 36-24 to keep stretching its lead, but lost the final quarter 32-22. To be fair, at that point, little-used veterans and were in the game, and was playing point guard.
4. Speaking Serbian. Malone must have expected a Serbian TV reporter was going to ask him for a “message” to the fans of Jokic’s home country. The coach flipped over his copy of the box score and said “Nikola je naš najbolji igrač.” Whatap that mean? “Nikola is our best player, and we love him.” I obviously cannot judge Malone’s pronunciation skills, but the reporter seemed pleased.
5. Sweet home, Chicago. I had forgotten how much I adore Chicago, a city I previously had not visited in about five years. I walked Michigan Ave. I went to the theater on Thursday night. I ate a Portillo’s chili dog and a Giordano’s personal deep dish pizza in less than 24 hours. This vaults into my top 5 favorite NBA travel destinations, even when the winter wind is whipping.
6. Down the stretch. Now things really crank up for the Nuggets, who enter Thursday 1.5 games back of Utah for the eighth Western Conference playoff spot and a half-game ahead of the 10th-place Clippers. Nine of Denver’s final 10 opponents would be in the postseason if it began Thursday. The other opponent is the Clippers. While Denver is off Thursday, the Lakers are at fifth-place New Orleans and Utah visits Dallas.
“There’s nothing to wait for,” Malone said. “The time is now.”
