CLEVELAND — The NBA’s leader in 3-point efficiency lit up the perimeter, and the NBA’s bottom-feeder in 3-point volume couldn’t keep up.
The Nuggets were stuck playing from behind most of the game Thursday night in a 126-114 loss to the Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. Cleveland shot 45.8% from 3-point range, led by Donovan Mitchell’s 5-for-9, 28-point night and aided by Caris LeVert’s 5-for-6 contribution.
“They were making shots, and they’re a really good team. Give them credit,” said Jamal Murray, who scored 19 on 7-of-16 shooting. “They’re moving the ball. They play for each other. You can tell. The ball was hopping. And we were scrambling. Even when we do scramble, they hit a shot. So it’s tough. I think they played better than us tonight.”
Michael Malone’s assessment was more conclusive than just one night.
“We’re a team that’s trying to find themselves,” the coach said. “I think that’s fairly obvious tonight. They’re a superior team across the board.”
Denver shot 25% on 24 outside attempts. Four Cavs scored 20 or more points. Excluding Nikola Jokic, the Nuggets have 23 individual 20-point performances from their roster this entire season, which is at the 20-game mark.
Jokic had 27 points, with 20 rebounds and 11 assists, passing Magic Johnson for third all-time in career triple-doubles with 139. After falling behind by 18 in the second half, the Nuggets (11-9) briefly got back within nine late in the fourth quarter with a chance to inch closer, but Michael Porter Jr. turned it over under the basket. He, Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray each scored 18 or more points in the loss, but the team’s finishing encountered a critical lapse in the third quarter. Its perimeter defense was too inconsistent all night.
“We’ve got a lot of film to watch,” Malone said.
Cleveland made 14 shots from the field to Denver’s 12 in the first quarter. The problem was math. The Cavs were 9 for 15 from beyond the arc. The Nuggets were 0 for 3. And so it didn’t matter that they outscored the hosts 24-10 in the paint, or that Jokic had 12 points and eight rebounds. As he seated himself, his team trailed by 10.
That was enough of an omen to predict what was about to happen to Denver’s bench. Michael Malone called a timeout 13 seconds into the second quarter after a 10th allowed 3-pointer, courtesy of a wide-open Sam Merrill. “They run a simple step up, we don’t switch, we give up a three,” Malone said. By the time he replaced Zeke Nnaji with Gordon at the backup five, the Cavaliers led by 16.
Gordon’s bully-ball and Murray’s shot-making steadied the ship before Jokic returned. Then he did, and Denver carved up the hosts with superior physicality for the rest of the half. Defensive rotations to Cleveland’s shooters improved dramatically. The Nuggets flew around. Jokic vacuumed up rebounds. It was 66-62 at halftime, back to a study in opposing styles. Denver attempted 76% of its shots in the paint for a 48-22 lead in the lane. Cleveland attempted 56% of its shots from the perimeter from a 42-3 lead there.
In what’s becoming a trend this season, Malone shortened his rotation in the second half, with Gordon playing center again during Jokic’s rest. But those minutes didn’t end up costing the Nuggets the game this time. The starting lineup dug double-digit holes even with Jokic on the floor, and the three-time MVP had a 2-for-7 third quarter while everyone else had gone cold.
“I think I missed, like, really easy ones today,” Jokic said. “Maybe I was forcing it. I really don’t know. But I think it was right there, so I don’t know what happened. It just didn’t go in.”
“I think it’s important for all of us, and it starts with me as a head coach — I never shy away from that responsibility — to really look in the mirror and say, ‘What can I do better? How can I help this team more?’ Not, ‘What can I get out of this?'” Malone said. “We have to get back to playing ‘we’ basketball, for each other. Both ends of the floor.”
Malone gives update after Cancar’s surgery
After Vlatko Cancar’s arthroscopic surgery in his left knee Wednesday, the door remains open for him to possibly play again in 2024-25, according to Malone.
“The decision that was made, one he felt most comfortable choosing, is one that would hopefully allow him to come back this season,” he said. “We’ll have to see how the recovery goes. It’s tough to put a definitive timetable on that return.”
Cancar, 27, will be re-evaluated in eight weeks, according to a news release from the team. He missed all of last season with a torn ACL in the same knee.
