December 8th 2024.
On Saturday night, Michael Malone, the coach of the Denver Nuggets, was faced with the challenge of coaching a game without multiple starters. When asked about the biggest challenge, he jokingly replied with a straight face, "Making sure I don't play Nikola for 48 minutes." However, it seemed that his comment went unnoticed, so he clarified by banging on the table in front of him like a drum set. Three hours later, his joke turned into a reality as Nikola Jokic, the star player of the team, sat on the bench with 47 points through three quarters while the Nuggets struggled against a team on a 16-game losing streak.
Despite Jokic's career-high of 56 points, the short-handed Nuggets fell short against the Washington Wizards, losing 122-113 at Capital One Arena. Jokic single-handedly tried to close the gap in the third quarter, but with no support from his teammates, the Wizards were able to maintain their lead. The rest of the Nuggets' roster failed to contribute more than 18 points each, and they were outscored by 33 points from behind the 3-point line. Even Jokic, who made three of their five 3-pointers, couldn't save the team from their defeat. The Wizards' Jordan Poole led with 39 points, securing their first win since October.
As the first quarter of the season came to an end at halftime, it seemed fitting as most of the Nuggets, except for Jokic, had failed to make an impact. Jokic had 24 points on an impressive 10-of-12 shooting, including a missed full-court shot. However, no other player on the team had scored in double digits. Despite outshooting the Wizards by 11%, the Nuggets struggled with turnovers and only made one 3-pointer. Jokic's long-range jumper with 57 seconds left in the half set a new record for the latest point in a game for any NBA team to make their first three-pointers, breaking the record previously held by the Nuggets.
The Nuggets' perimeter defense was a disaster, as Poole alone made five 3-pointers in the first half, scoring 21 points. The Nuggets lost sight of shooters off the ball, and a three-shot foul was committed just 0.7 seconds before the buzzer. In the third quarter, Jokic tried to close the gap by scoring most of the points for his team. However, every time the Nuggets got close, a defensive breakdown or a rebounding lapse would follow. The Wizards capitalized on this and made consecutive second-chance 3-pointers to maintain their lead. Despite Jokic's 40 points, the Nuggets were down 91-83, forcing Malone to call a timeout.
As the game progressed, the Nuggets continued to struggle with rebounding, allowing Washington to grab 15 offensive rebounds that turned into 16 points. With a back-to-back game against the Atlanta Hawks the next day, the Nuggets were dealt another blow as Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, and Dario Saric were all ruled out just two hours before the game. Despite dealing with a quad injury, Christian Braun still played in the game.
Malone explained, "Jamal may have aggravated his hamstring in the previous game against Cleveland. During the game, with the adrenaline flowing, he didn't feel it much. But after the game and during the flight, the stiffness set in." Wanting to keep up with all the latest news about the Nuggets? Sign up for the Nuggets Insider to get all the latest NBA analysis.
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