Summary: Denver puts on a show, downing the 76ers 144-109

On By Littum

The Denver Nuggets continued to take care of business, taking their road blowout streak home with them, dismantling the injured Philadelphia 76ers 144-109. For the third game in a row, Nikola Jokic achieved a triple-double in just 3 quarters with 27 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists. He dismounted the sixes, who had no answer for him all night. Julian Strawther came off the bench with 23 points on 14 shots and Aaron Gordon added 19 points on just 7 shots as Denver shot 61.2% from the field and was never seriously challenged by the Sixers despite Tyrese Maxey’s 28 points and 10 assists. Denver outrebounded a tired Philly team 51 to 26 and pulled away in the third quarter with their second 40-point quarter of the night to put the game away.

Game Flow

Jamal Murray fumbled and turned the ball over to start the game, while Tyrese Maxey had a turnover for Philadelphia. Jokic was fouled going to the rim and made both free throws, then Philly blew two attempts at the rim while MPJ got a putback on a Murray miss and Westbrook also got to the line. Eric Gordon made a 3 for the 76ers, Westbrook missed Jokic for a turnover, and Maxey and Murray both missed shots. Braun grabbed a rebound and had a tough finish, MPJ’s rebound led to a Westbrook-to-Jokic finish, but Eric Gordon had a corner 3 for Philly. Braun had the free throw answered by a tough Maxey layup, but Westbrook’s transition 3 off a Jokic pass made it 15-10 Denver.

After a timeout, Drummond finished a paint shot and another Russ turnover didn’t hurt Denver, but his rebound led to a Christian Braun dunk. George made a bank shot, Jokic hit a spinning hook in the paint and MPJ got a rebound off a Braun miss as Denver continued to push the tempo. Jamal Murray went coast-to-coast with a rebound for a layup, Maxey hit a running floater and MPJ’s three rimmed out. AG entered the game and immediately hit a 3, Jokic finished off a Russ pass at the rim and Paul George’s three was answered by Aaron Gordon’s oop from Jokic. Braun and Oubre traded layups, Strawther missed a 3, Jokic buried one and, despite a late turnover by Murray that gave Reggie Jackson a bucket, the Nuggets ended the first quarter up 35-27.

Jamal Murray made a technical free throw for three defensive seconds and then AG made a pair of his own. Maxey also got to the line and AG came back as it was a lot of mistakes early on. Justin Edwards had a Philly 3, but both Julian Strawther and Peyton Watson hit Murray-assisted threes to make it 46-32 Denver. Watson airballed an 18-foot jumper on the next down, Drummond made a push shot the other way and Jamal missed an open 3. Yabusele made a free throw and Kelly Oubre stole the ball from Murray and finished at the rim to cut the lead to 8. Strawther hit a key 3, the teams traded turnovers and Maxey made a layup off a DeAndre Jordan foul. Mal missed another three, Maxey didn’t miss his and the lead was 5. Strawther made another 3, Jamal got fouled at the rim and Jokic got back into the game at 54-44. Eric Gordon hit a three for Philly with a Drummond assist, answered by MPJ from the corner. Braun finished a transition bucket over Paul George, and Maxey and Strawther traded threes. George hit a jumper over Strawther, but Strawther made a pair of free throws in response as they continued to drive to the line. MPJ and George traded buckets, Yabusele made a three and Jokic finished off a Russ pass to keep the lead at 13. Very little defense was played in the quarter, but despite a three-point barrage by the Sixers, it was Nikola Jokic who made a pair of layups and MPJ’s paint scoring kept Denver up 77-67 after both teams scored 40+ in the second frame.

Maxey started the scoring for the second half, but Braun had a transition bucket and Jokic had both a block and a finish. MPJ made a corner three, Drummond dunked one, but Denver had free throws from Braun and a transition bucket from Westbrook after a Jokic steal made it 88-71 Denver. The Sixers kept attacking the paint, but MPJ made another 3 and Braun had a tough paint finish. Jokic had a 1-for-4 rebound and finish, Westbrook finished off a Murray assist in the paint and MPJ dunked after Yabusele made another 3. Russ had a great steal and finish, Maxey hit a three the other way and then AG’s three . made it 104-84 after Jokic’s 8th assist. The Sixers went to a zone, but it didn’t help as Jokic continued to cut it up with a pass to Braun under the rim after a Yabusele dunk. Jokic buried a 3, then beat Aaron Gordon for a no-look lob to get his triple-double. Watson missed a layup, but Jamal Murray made one, and Denver was in complete control of the game after three, 117-94.

Drummond made a shot to start the fourth, answered by a floater from Strawther. Strawther and Edwards traded paint buckets, and then Edwards made a three for Philly. Ricky Council and Strawther traded threes and Aaron Gordon made a nice turnaround followed by his third 3 of the night for a 129-104 lead with 8 minutes left. DeAndre Jordan made a pair of free throws and then dunked one home. Jokic took the entire fourth quarter off again, and Jamal Murray was substituted for Jalen Pickett after 6 minutes, giving Denver’s key players some much-needed rest in a blowout. Pickett assisted Strawther on a wonderful drive-and-finish, and the Hunter-Tyson-to-PJ-Hall transition oop put the finishing touches on a wonderful game in which Denver took care of business and won 144-109.

Final thoughts

– Aaron Gordon does so much for the bench. He helps both the closing minutes with Jokic at the end of the first and third quarters as well as the non-Jokic minutes. One of the reasons Jokic has been able to get out of fourth quarters in the past 3 games is because of Gordon and DeAndre Jordan’s efforts to play off each other. AG’s recent ability to hit threes—he made three of them tonight—as well as his passing acumen prevents teams from clogging the paint against him and Jordan, and the pick and rolls and screens he runs with Strawther frees up space for Julian to take full advantage of his offense. And any team that plays the shooters too close allows AG to switch to a smaller man and back them right into the paint. Tonight there were some zone looks that Jokic and AG beat with ease – there is no simple way to slow down Denver’s varied offense. AG’s plus-minus in his last 5 games off the bench: +23, -1, +8, +10 and +10. Winning the AG minutes means Denver is playing its minutes both with and without Jokic correctly, and that’s a beautiful thing in January.

– Julian Strawther himself had a game. If anyone seems to benefit the most from the AG protocol, it’s Julian Strawther. He’s taken 8+ shots consistently since Gordon’s return, with 14 tonight, and whether it’s because fourth quarters are blowouts or because Jamal and AG are consistently looking to feed him, he’s taken and made the kind of shots that Denver need him to be fluent in as they enter the second half of the season. His defense has also been better – fewer fouls, more people staying in front of his man so he can stay on the court, and the Nuggets can make their bench transition game work. The Nuggets need their 7th and 8th guys in the playoff rotation to be confident and productive in their roles, and both Watson and Strawther have grown into those roles more and more in January. For Denver’s hopes of a deep playoff run, this is a beautiful thing.