IT’S A MAGIC ACT
Denver gets road win at Orlando
ORLANDO, FLA.» The Nuggets are still aiming to put together a full 48 minutes in a road game.
But they surely will take the win.
Denver used a charge by its reserves in the second quarter, a strong third quarter from its starters and a stingy defensive presence throughout to clinch a 103-89 victory over the Orlando Magic at the Amway Center on Friday night.
“It’s just one (road win),” said forward Kenneth Faried, who scored a season-high 20 points and added 10 rebounds off the bench. “We need to put them together like we do at home. But it does feel good to finally get a road win, for once.
“It’s been a struggle, but we finally got one tonight.”
The win snapped a four-game road losing skid for a Nuggets (1411) team still missing standout big men Nikola Jokic (sprained ankle) and Paul Millsap (wrist surgery). Denver is 4-9 away from the Pepsi Center, a stark contrast from its 10-2 home record.
After publicly calling out his team’s poor defense in Wednesday’s loss at New Orleans, coach Michael Malone was most pleased with the Nuggets’ improvement on that end of the floor. They held Orlando to 39.8 percent from the field, the second-lowest shooting performance by a Denver opponent this season. The Magic shot just 23.8 percent from 3-point distance (5-of-21), the worst performance by a Denver opponent thus far. Denver compiled seven blocks and seven steals, helping ignite 15 fast-break points.
“It is more of a (mind-set of), ‘OK, I’m not going to allow this man to beat me continuously that easily,’ ” Malone said. “If we are going to get beat, it has to be hard and (we have to) make them feel us. …
“We embraced the challenge and realized for us to get back on the winning track, we have to start defending a lot better.”
Though the defensive effort was present from the opening tip, it took time for the Nuggets’ offense to find rhythm. After falling behind by 11 points in the first quarter, Denver outscored Orlando 67-45 in the second and third periods to take control.
Gary Harris scored 10 of his 12 points in the third quarter, including a finger-roll lay-in to open the period and a thunderous dunk, while Wilson Chandler scored nine of his 11 points in the quarter. That lead grew to 17 points in the final quarter, with a 3-pointer from the right wing from Malik Beasley putting Denver up 94-77 with 6:43 to play.
Denver’s bench fueled its initial rally with a 17-6, second-quarter run that cut into Orlando’s advantage. Later, a driving layup by Emmanuel Mudiay (18 points, five rebounds, five assists, two steals) in the half’s waning seconds gave Denver its first lead at 49-48. Mudiay and Faried both scored 11 points in the quarter, while Beasley contributed nine points.
Will Barton, who played a game-high 43 minutes, had a total of 19 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals for a Denver team that finished with six players in double-figure scoring.
Nikola Vucevic notched a double-double with 21 points and 17 rebounds for Orlando (11-16), while Jonathon Simmons added 21 points and Aaron Gordon scored 14 but shot just 5-of-12 from the field.
Denver’s six-game road trip now turns north and gets tougher, as Indiana, Detroit and Boston all entered Friday occupying an Eastern Conference playoff slot.
The Nuggets left Orlando still aiming to play a full 48 minutes in a road game. But they left with a victory.
It’s only one, as Faried said. But given the Nuggets’ struggles away from home thus far, they will surely take it.
“We needed to come out with that focus of, ‘Hey, do not do what we did these last couple road games. Let’s do what we do at home instead and let’s blow this game open,’ ” Faried said. “That’s what we did.”