Nuggets coach Michael Malone’s radar was up as soon as he heard the news.
“When I found out that (Anthony Davis) wasn’t going to be suiting up tonight, I hit as many of our players as possible before they left the arena,” he said.
Malone was concerned about a letdown given that the Pelicans would be without their perennial MVP candidate due to an elbow strain. After a tense fourth quarter featuring three steals, the Nuggets made good on Malone’s message and hung on 116-111. They’re now 5-1 with a multifaceted offense more resembling last season’s fire power.
“We’ll definitely take the win but also understand there’s a lot to clean up,” Malone said. “You’re up 18 points in the third quarter and we just lose our mind. We start making things up on offense, not executing, not getting stops on defense. … I think our guys understood we let them back in the game. We’re gonna have to win this game, and you’re gonna win it with defensive stops and offensive execution.”
Harris had back-to-back steals with 3:20 left that led to easy transition buckets and built a 104-93 lead. He buried one more midrange jumper, forced one more turnover and hit another layup for good measure, finishing with 23 points, six rebounds and six assists.
The Pelicans got it within two at 96-94 before found in the corner for a pivotal 3-pointer with 3:31 left. Jokic flirted with his second triple-double of the season, finishing with 12 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists.
Harris checked in with 8:32 left in the fourth quarter and the Nuggets up 88-84. He immediately buried a corner jumper, assisted on a layup and corralled a defensive rebound before taking it the length of the court, restoring a 94-85 lead that didn’t hold for long. The Pelicans shot 52 percent from the field, including 11-of-24 from 3-point range.
added 23 points and five rebounds.
The Nuggets had their first sustained break of the season, including back-to-back practices Saturday and Sunday with an emphasis on shooting and cutting down on their turnovers. The time off was necessary as Monday began a stretch of five games in eight days. The Nuggets will be in Chicago and Cleveland later this week. Both contests, along with Monday nightap, fit the profile of games that the Nuggets have overlooked in the past.
“The last couple of years, there were games where I think our team just felt like we could show up,” Malone said. “We’d have a disappointing performance or a loss. And when you’ve come so close two years in a row, you can’t put yourself in that same position again.”
The Nuggets ironed out some of their rust in the second quarter, asserting their offense after a lethargic first quarter. Murray closed the half with a driving and-1 conversion to lead the team with 15 points. He was noticeably more aggressive and had little hesitation when hunting for his shot. The Nuggets’ eight first-half 3-pointers were equivalent to their entire season average heading into Monday’s game and helped build a 58-45 lead. They finished with 11 on the night on 31-percent shooting.
Though Malone maintained he has been pleased with their looks from outside, they entered the game with the second-lowest 3-point shooting percentage in the league at 29 percent.
Malone said their struggles haven’t been a function of effort, adding that guys had been showing up at night to get extra reps.
Jokic recorded 10 points, five assists and four rebounds in the first half. He punctuated the second quarter with a perfect lob at the elbow that found Harris for an alley-oop.
