The Nuggets lost their last show game, falling to the Magic 114-110 in their final setup before the start of the regular season against Miami Heat.
Jamal Murray played a good game for the Nuggets, leading the team to score with 23 points on 12 shots, showing up in his first game. Jokic finished with zero points, missing both his free throws and his only attempt at goal on the field, a frustrating game while the team is ready to start playing the games that matter.
The Magic were brought into the lead by striker Gary Clark, who had 17 points, including 4 times 8 in attempts of 3 points. The Magic scored 18 points by 37 in his 3-point attempts, hitting the jumpers every time the Nuggets tried to cut the lead under double digits.
The Nuggets didn’t play particularly well for long periods of time, and were completed by a 19-0 run by the Magic in the second quarter.
The Nuggets started with Jamal Murray, Will Barton, Jerami Grant, Paul Millsap and Nikola Jokic, the first time they were able to use that lineup in Orlando. They struggled with turnovers to start the game, showing some rust after a four-month hiatus. Barton was happy to get back on the field, getting a lot of early shots for the team, although he failed on most of those shots. Jerami Grant had a nice two-handed block on a James Ennis III shot, crushing the ball from the limits on the baseline.
Michael Porter Jr. entered the game at 5:00, managing to run with the rest of the starters minus Grant. The young beginner made an immediate impact, knocking down a sweater, then grabbing an offensive rebound and crushing with two hands. After a timeout, part of the bench rotation came into play, with Mason Plumlee and Torrey Craig checking in. The legend of the exhibition Nuggets Bol Bol joined the team a minute later, completing the Unicorn team with MPJ for the first time. The Magic were able to make a run with Jonathan Isaac, extending the lead up to 29-19 at the end of the first quarter.
The Magic made their first two shots of the fourth, then Porter Jr. fouled Isaac in a 3-point attempt, with the advance making his free throw for the start. MPJ followed him with an offensive and crushed rebound, but Markelle Fultz knocked on a triple to extend the run to 22-2. Malone returned the starters to try to help repress the attack and the team started making better shots with an improved defense. Millsap had a really strong basic drive for a bucket, so he followed it up with a strong cut and edge finish.
Jerami Grant managed to do three consecutive layups for the Nuggets, bringing Magic’s lead to 12 points. After an MPJ blockade, Murray hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to just seven points. They had gathered within seven points with one minute left, but things went quickly to close the half. MPJ shot the ball while traveling, and Orlando hit 3 consecutive pointers to help stretch the double-digit lead. MPJ scored a Vucevic shot with 0.8 seconds remaining, a recall confirmed by the referees after a review, and Denver fell 60-49 in the half-time. Murray finished the half with 17 points and has been really good so far. Jokic made and tried zero shots, which is frustrating, since it’s supposed to be a setup for the games that matter.
Murray stepped out of the still-hot midfield, making two mid-range jumpers in pleasant play where he was able to separate his defender and hit nothing but his shots. Murray captured the defense by sleeping on Torrey Craig, finding the wing in the left corner for a clean 3-pointer. The Nuggets have become sloppy with the ball, with Grant throwing a lob against Murray and Jokic making a lazy transition from a double team to lead to a couple of really easy baskets for Magic, wiping out the momentum that the team had to start the fourth.
After a clever Malone timeout, the Nuggets forced a turnover and were able to get easy points during the transition. Appetizers started to seem a little fatigued and their defense gave way, with DJ Augustin getting angry and knocking in a couple of 3 points. The reservations made their way into the game and Mason Plumlee was immediately stripped of Evan Fournier. Craig had an emphatic freeze on a Fournier disc, but Porter Jr. made a slow pass and was crushed by Gary Clark. Clark recovered and managed to do a 3-pointer as well, as the Magic kept doing enough to keep them ahead in double figures despite the best efforts of the Nuggets. MPJ was able to take a couple more shots to help reduce the lead to five, but Terrence Ross hit a 3-pointer to freshen the Nuggets’ offense.
The Nuggets got a 3-pointer from Torrey Craig at the start of the fourth, but the Magic were really able to pour it with a ton of baskets made to make a 13-4 run in the first two minutes. Bol Bol made a good play on the wing, bypassing Mo Bamba and casually emptying a free throw sweater. He followed his mid-range jumper with a nice 3-pointer, and the Nuggets forced a turnover which led to a Plumlee 180° dunk that cut the lead to eight. Bol hit another triple, pulling up a pass from Tyler Cook.
Plumlee stole the ball on the perimeter, diving to the ground to keep it full and Keita Bates-Diop managed to get into traffic. Torrey Craig was able to undress Melvin Frazier Jr., and while he lost his layup attempt, Plumlee followed him with a comeback dunk. The Nuggets joined another type of Monstar lineup to close the game, with Craig at the point, Bates-Diop with two guards, Noah Vonleh with the small forward, Tyler Cook in power forward and Bol Bol in the center. The offense was bad, and while they cut the lead to just four points, they weren’t able to get baskets in the last minute to steal a win.
