Recap: Nuggets have some magic when they win against Orlando

On By Littum

First quarter

The first time Kentavious Caldwell-Pope played against the Nuggets after leaving them. The first time the Nuggets visited him. There were some personal stakes in this game and you could feel it a little in the crowd. Malone and KCP hugged it out before the game, and it’s clear there’s no bad blood with anyone there.

However, there was something off about starting this game. That’s the offense. Not for the Magic, in the first few minutes they scored 8 points, but they managed to hold the Nuggets to just 3 points in the same number of minutes. It was sloppy turnover, missed shots, hesitation. That led to an early timeout from Malone.

That seemed to make up for some of the offensive issues, they managed to close the gap to just 2 points over the next few minutes, but the defense didn’t follow suit. There was a distinct lack of that as Wendell Carter dropped 7 early points and KCP had 4 of their own. He also locked down Jamal, who made just 1 of his first 4 shots. The intensity from the Magic stood out – gosh, the Nuggets sure could use a guy like that.

The rest of the quarter was characterized by Jokic getting into the bag, Aaron Gordon having a couple of silly turnovers, some bad defense (but bad offense by the Magic), a mean block by Peyton Watson on Paolo Banchero, and a bad missed call by the refs on a blocked Julian Strawther 3 pointer. Malone tried to call a timeout to challenge and was eventually ignored, but Strawther got something back with a layup late in the shot clock. The Nuggets were down 1 at the end of the first at the end, 28-29. Jokic had 12 points and 7 rebounds in the quarter.

Second Quarter

The Nuggets didn’t have the hottest start to the non-joke minutes of this game. While Aaron Gordon got an and-one early, he missed the free throw. Then they followed it up with Peyton Watson fumbling the ball and turning it over. The Nuggets suffered from another turnover from DeAndre Jordan and some buckets from Trevilin Queen.

It was the first time in a while that it felt like the Nuggets were being killed off the bench minutes. After a while, however, Jamal Murray got a couple of buckets back and the offense got into a bit of a rhythm. However, the corners continued to be the Magic’s best friends as they kept spraying from there. The defense still wasn’t great for the Nuggets, but they were only outscored by 4. Then the big guy subbed back in.

That led to the Nuggets finding their rhythm again, with Jok immediately grabbing a rebound, only to be fouled at the other end. 6 free throws and a Russell Westbrook layup later and it was tied at 49. They had been down by as much as 10, but the good vibes didn’t last forever. Peyton Watson, after getting his third block of the game, was elbowed in the face on the way down. So when he landed it looked like his head hit the floor a little bit. He was ruled doubtful to return with a head contusion.

After Nikola Jokic was called for a flop technique, he shot a pair of free throws of his own. That’s because while it was ruled that he was whistled on a fastbreak, the initial call was an offensive foul on him. However, it was overturned, and was ruled a defensive foul on Wendell Carter Jr. The Nuggets led 54-52 at the half.

Third Quarter

The second half started with a promising bang for the Nuggets. Michael Porter Jr. made a contested 3 pointer and he had been quiet up until that point. It seemed like he might get there. However, the magic kept answering the call. Neither team could really pull away from the other. The KCP would respond to the MPJ 3 with one of its own. Christian Braun made a couple of free throws, Cole Anthony made a little hook shot.

That was until MPJ made another couple of curves. Then things started to pick up, including the Nuggets’ tempo. KCP missed a few shots and had a turnover. Cole Anthony didn’t hit very often. Russ became a bit of a motor, throwing a lob to Christian Braun among some other assists. The Nuggets got a little going.

With the offense going the way it did, the Magic didn’t last forever. Eventually, the Nuggets slowly began to pull away. At the 3:17 mark of the quarter, they were up 10 points on the Magic. Tristan Da Silva kept it a little close by scoring a pair of buckets. 10 points was not insurmountable, but it was only a growing lead. Jamal Murray caught fire and put away a pair of buckets at the end of the quarter, and Nikola Jokic also had a triple double. They took a 16-point lead into the final frame, 93-77.

Fourth Quarter

The fourth quarter didn’t end up meaning the least bit in this game. Jokic was able to stay on the bench throughout and get some much needed rest. Christian Braun came up with 20 points and secured a double-double, Jamal came up with 19 points but played 38 minutes. The garbage time line-up didn’t look too bad, and the Nuggets got as close to a mouther as they could without getting one as they won 113-100.