The prolonged wait made it that much sweeter.
All-Star Nikola Jokic tossed the Nuggets on his back, and for the first time since the 2009-2010 season, Denver can call itself Northwest Division champions.
By virtue of Friday’s 119-110 win over Portland, the Nuggets (53-26) secured the division crown and, at least, a top-3 seed in the upcoming playoffs.
“Enjoy it, division, homecourt (advantage) but we have three more games to go and then playoffs to prepare for,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said.
The Nuggets trailed entering the fourth quarter before Jokic wrested control of the game with his bruising finishes and deft touch around the rim. He scored 10 of his 22 points in the first three-plus minutes of the quarter, while the rest of the team raised their defensive intensity. He added 13 rebounds and nine assists in another dominant showing.
“Oh, I yelled at him, I said, ‘You gotta score 10 points,'” Malone joked. “You should’ve heard it. It was a really fiery approach. It’s on me calling plays to get him the ball, but it’s him understanding what time it is. It’s time for our best player to show up and carry us.”
After Jokic’s flurry gave the Nuggets a nine-point cushion, timely buckets from , , and helped seal it in a collective effort symbolic of this season’s rise. Murray finished with 23 points and six assists and veteran poured in a team-high 25. Craig, whom Malone trusted down the stretch, sunk 18 points of his own. Malone said Craig deserved the game ball.
“He was phenomenal,” Malone added. “His defense, his offense, everything he did out there.”
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The win not only bought the Nuggets security, it also likely bought them some rest. They’ll face Portland on Sunday in a game they no longer need to win, and will finish the season with contests against Utah and Minnesota. Their first-round opponent – Oklahoma City, San Antonio or the – will be sorted out within the next week.
But Friday – and the requisite fourth-quarter effort – was for savoring.
The Blazers stormed back from a 69-60 third-quarter deficit and momentarily took a 78-75 lead before Craig buried a huge corner 3 to even it back up. Damian Lillard, who finished with just 14, came alive with eight points in the quarter, but Craig provided another huge highlight with an alley-oop jam off a perfect lob from Beasley. The Nuggets entered the fourth quarter down 87-84, in part due to the Blazers’ strength on the glass.
After finishing last season in last place in the Northwest Division, Malone made it a goal of theirs to win it this season.
“Anytime you can kind of get back to those levels, it shows you’re doing something right,” Malone said. “I take great satisfaction in the fact that we are the only team in the NBA that has improved four straight years. The only one.”
As far as end of season awards go, that fact should be atop Malone’s Coach of the Year resume. But this year’s rapid development has elevated expectations from a team perspective.
“If you can win your division – and I think we have the most talented division in the NBA — itap an accomplishment, but obviously the bigger goal after that is not just making the playoffs, itap being a team that can advance in the playoffs and get out of the first round and be a dangerous out,” Malone said.
The Nuggets’ seed will largely depend on how they end their season, which includes one of the more daunting stretches in the NBA. Of Denver’s last 11 games, nine will come against playoff opponents.
“I think the advantage is you have to play at a high level every night to even give yourself a chance,” Malone said. “Itap been a hell of a schedule, and thatap forcing us to play some of our best basketball. And even when our offense isn’t clicking like we all are used to seeing, the defense since the all-star break is fourth in the NBA. So itap great to be challenged every night, and hopefully that allows us to be playing at our best.”
Entering Friday, despite some offensive inconsistencies, the Nuggets had won nine of 13 games.
Millsap was invaluable in the first half when not much else was working for the Nuggets offensively. He bullied his way in the post, connected in the mid-range and buried 6-of-7 free throws to finish with a team-high 16 points in the first half.
Jokic came on strong in the second quarter and willed the Nuggets to a 56-50 lead at halftime after they’d trailed in the first.
Portland’s role players – Kanter, Rodney Hood and Al-Farouq Aminu – had 25 points combined and the Blazers hung in despite just two points from Lillard.
