Denver basks in 7-man road victory over Utah
If you were to dissect only the final 80 seconds of Denver’s riveting 98-95 win over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday, you’d find close to a dozen examples of guys rising in their roles.
That was the only way the Nuggets were going to win Wednesday night, on the second night of a back-to-back, with only seven players, on the road against a playoff-caliber team following the emotional toll of Tuesday night’s blockbuster trade. No matter how you frame it, that recipe should’ve foretold a loss. And yet for the third time in a week, the Nuggets registered a huge victory.
“Who gave us a chance to win this game?” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said aloud after the game. “Nobody. You can say, ‘Hey, just believe. Go out there and have fun.’ But we’ve done it. What we did in Milwaukee and what we did tonight, it’s a testament to the confidence that we have, the courage that we have and the resiliency that we have. As a coach, I couldn’t be more proud of a group. It’s unbelievable.”
“We all we got,” guard Jamal Murray said after the big win.
Defining sequence
Down 95-94 with 1:20 remaining, Monte Morris swung momentum when he picked Jazz superstar Donovan Mitchell’s pocket.
After a Murray triple try, Torrey Craig elevated for his fourth offensive rebound of the game.
That saved the possession, which eventually found its way to Denver’s closer, Nikola Jokic. With one bounce and a devastating, one-legged fadeaway, Jokic drained his 14th basket of the night to give the Nuggets a onepoint lead.
He was hardly impressed with his final line — 30 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists; his concern was stealing a win before the All-Star break.
“It’s fun, of course, because it’s just us,” Jokic said.
“The whole team is here. You can see the assistant coaches, strength coaches, the trainers. Everybody was pumped up and were cheering for us.”
Denver’s traveling support staff easily outnumbered their healthy players.
After the starters, the Nuggets’ bench was composed of P.J. Dozier and Vlatko Cancar.
After two Utah misses, Gary Harris’ two clutch free throws sealed it.
Harris’ struggles
Last season, Harris’ year was laid low by a litany of injuries.
This year, though on the mend from a recent adductor strain, Harris has battled a whole new set of obstacles.
His shooting percentages have dropped drastically and his confidence level has seemed to wane. On Wednesday, Harris was 0-of-13 for five points, eight rebounds and five assists. At times he looked timid and indecisive. Over his last 11 games, he’s reached double digits just twice.
Malone trusts him because his defense hasn’t fallen off.
“I just told (him), ‘Don’t worry about the 0-for-13,’” Malone said.
“We don’t win that game without Gary Harris. The defense that he played, the steals, the deflections, the big free throws.
“If you’re just a specialist and you can only impact the game with your scoring, then you’re kind of limiting yourself.
“What I loved about Gary is that he didn’t allow the fact that he was 0-for-13 to hang his head and feel sorry for himself and pout. That’s not who we are.”