Aggressive New Orleans beats Denver on the glass
There was no hiding Denver’s swelling frustration.
As the whistles piled up and the trips to the free-throw line mounted, Nuggets players couldn’t help but react. Nikola Jokic barked in displeasure. Paul Millsap pleaded his case to no avail.
The Pelicans collided with the sizzling Nuggets and imposed a physicality Denver couldn’t match. Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram proved a devastating frontcourt tandem, as the Pelicans snatched a 113-108 win at Ball Arena on Sunday afternoon. The Nuggets, who had won eight of their last nine games, fell to 2517 with a game Tuesday at Orlando on deck.
“You give Zion credit,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “He is a downhill attack, puts a tremendous amount of pressure on your defense. … We lost this game in the second quarter, 36-21. We lost the game because they flat-out kicked our (butt) on the glass.”
Williamson and Ingram combined for 60 points, and the Pelicans won the rebounding battle 45-37, including 14 of the offensive variety.
“That’s what they do,” Malone added. “They eat the glass.” Jokic, as he always does, saved his best for when it mattered. He scored 25 of his 29 in the second half as part of his 11th triple-double of the season, but the Nuggets couldn’t contend with New Orleans’ size. That laid the foundation for the free-throw disparity (30-10 in New Orleans’ favor) and the foul discrepancy (28-12).
“We had opportunities to win the game, but we needed a little bit better focus on the defensive end,” Jokic said. “They’re a driving team. We need to fill the gaps. We need to show the crowd. … We did a really bad job doing what we were told (to do) in the locker room.”
Jamal Murray added 23 points on 9-of-16 from the field, though most of his damage came in the first half. Will Barton (16) and Michael Porter Jr. (17) supported the scoring effort, but the Nuggets
needed more help inside.
The Nuggets met the Pelicans’ aggression in the third. After getting muscled in the first half, Denver brought the brawn. It began first with an alley-oop lob from Barton to Murray on a fast break and continued with an authoritative slam from Millsap. Next, Jokic threw down his 24th dunk of the season — a new career-high — and combo guard PJ Dozier finished the run off with a jam of his own.
In between the Nuggets’ personal dunk contest, Jokic played a more assertive brand of basketball. He went at Steven Adams in the post, finishing with a flurry of pump-fakes and postups. Jokic had 14 of Denver’s 29 in the quarter, and the Nuggets trailed just 83-80 going into the fourth.
Malone knew what his team was in for heading into Sunday’s afternoon tip.
“This team lives in the paint, as a group,” Malone said. “And we all know that Zion is leading the NBA in paint points per game at close to 20 just by himself. … Zion is literally wreaking havoc upon the NBA.”
The early tip time was made even harder by the NBA’s exhaustive testing protocols, which included driving to the arena at 11 p.m. Saturday before an early morning test Sunday.
“It (stinks), I’ll tell you that much,” Malone said, careful not to make it seem like the Nuggets were the only team subjected to the protocols. “I’m just like, ‘I’ve had three tests in the last eight, nine hours.’ Kind of crazy, but those are the protocols.”
The Pelicans left the Nuggets battered and bruised after a physical first half. Behind their massive frontcourt, New Orleans outrebounded Denver 3015 and outscored the Nuggets 3622 on paint points.
Their overwhelming physicality built a 58-51 lead going into the break.
Williamson, as Malone predicted, lived in the paint. His thunderous dunks evoked a flying freight train.
Barton and Murray combined for 26 first-half points, but Jokic, Denver’s offensive fulcrum, had a quiet start that began with foul trouble. He went into halftime with just four points on four shots.