Denver Nuggets outlast Perth Wildcats 96-88

| 10/05/2018 | NBA | No Comments

Denver Nuggets another victory in preseason outlast Perth Wildcats 96-88. For first time in six months the Denver Nuggets had a home game.

They had new colors on the court but Denver’s ability from last season to play down to the level of its competition reared its ugly head as they defeated the Perth Wildcats 96 to 88.  Gary Harris got his first preseason action and looked good early, most of the starters had poor games and scored just 36 combined points. Perth’s Bryce Cotton was the best Wildcat option; he looked like a definite NBA-caliber player out there with 17 points in the first half and 33 for the game. Paul Millsap has never been ejected in an NBA game, and this happens for for first time- was thrown out for arguing with a referee, Nikola Jokic was ineffective and looked to be suffering from that finger injury he’s had since the start of training camp, and Denver struggled for three quarters with this one before pulling away late.

Perth came out aggressively, looking to show the result against the Utah Jazz was not a true representation of their level of play. Denver kept mostly to the perimeter in the first three minutes, then passed the ball six or seven times before a Will Bartonthree. Barton drove the hoop the next time down for a layup, and Gary Harris followed suit for a 7-2 Nuggets lead. Denver’s defense was fine, with Perth starting 2-of-12, but Cotton found his shot from range as Perth closed to 17-11. Gary Harris hit a three to get to nine points for the quarter, Barton had 11, Trey hit a three with a minute left and Denver took the one-quarter lead at 27-16. Paul Millsap – who has never been ejected in an NBA game – was thrown out for arguing with a referee, Nikola Jokic was ineffective and looked to be suffering from that finger injury he’s had since the start of training camp, and Denver struggled for three quarters with this one before pulling away late. It’s just the preseason, but that’s not the sort of attitude and intention that Denver can take into the regular season.

Malik Beasley opened the second quarter with a beautiful three pointer, but Perth answered back. Trey fired in another from behind the arc to make it 35-21, then Beasley hit another spot-up three as his shot looked very good on the evening. Denver’s offense had some brief struggles dealing with a zone look from Perth though, until Torrey Craig picked up a poor rolling pass and did a behind-the-back move for a layup to get it to 43-26.

The Monte Morris to Plumlee oop was also well-executed feed kept the lead at 5, 75-70, at the end of the quarter.  Morris and Plumlee had a great pick and roll play for a bucket and Lylesdrove the lane for a bucket to take it to 90-78 and Denver got out of the danger zone when it came to losing this game. Monte Morris and Mason Plumlee pick and roll game was pretty strong, and Morris keeps making the case for minutes no matter what eventually happens with Isaiah Thomas. Juancho got a dunk and Morris hit another basket as for the third game in a row Denver’s bench stabilized the game for them. This is the sort of Bizarro World thing that could make a difference in Denver’s playoff goals this year. The Beasley steal and dunk with two minutes to go punctuated the eventual Nuggets victory,

Denver needs to take lesser opponents seriously. Nikola Jokic is dealing with a finger injury on his shooting hand, but whether or not that was the reason for some passive offensive play it set the tone, especially in the second quarter. Paul Millsap still looks out of sorts, going 1-for-6 in the first half against a Perth team that isn’t exactly dominating inside and struggling to hold onto the ball in traffic before he fouled out. It’s the preseason, against a non-NBA team that Denver can outlast at 60% effort, but that doesn’t mean it’s the effort they should put in. Denver jogged through the game, Perth played hard, and the game was justifiably close. Malone agreed about the effort after the game:

Jokic’s hand has to be a concern for the start of the season. Denver in preseason start hot this year and that will be tough if Jokic is going to struggle to shoot and therefore pass up being Denver’s lead offensive option due to injury.  He played much of 2016-17 with a wrist injury but that’s not what the Nuggets want from their max contract player – they need him to be healthy for the season.

Malik Beasley threw down the gauntlet with a nine-point, three-rebound first half performance with all of the baskets coming from three. Juancho Hernangomez couldn’t get in the ball game in the first half as Michael Maloneexperimented with his rotation. Trey Lyles got run with both starters and bench players on the court, and while his position is likely safe the minutes will be hard to come by for both Beasley and Hernangomez unless they make Malone call their names. These preseason games are important impressions for the coach to have later in the season.

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