Nuggets Take the Lead
The Nuggets played the Golden State Warriors last night in the preseason opener, ultimately taking the 108-102 win.
Denver came hard out of the gates to outscore the Warriors 28-21 in the first quarter. The Nuggets kept their grip on the game but ultimately, Golden State outscored them 31-26 in the second quarter. At the half, Nuggets led the Warriors, 54-52.
Coming into the third quarter, the Nuggets weren’t ready to stop and once again, they were able to give the Warriors a fight and outscored them 32-21, giving the Nuggets a 13 point lead. The Warriors came back in the fourth, fighting tooth and nail, and they were even able to outscore the Nuggets, but fell short when the Nuggets took the 108-102 win.
What made the preseason opener so special? Last night, it had to do with some spectacular passing from The Joker and double-doubles from Paul Millsap and Mason Plumlee. Emmanuel Mudiay even came off of the bench for 19 points. Site Expert Mathew Huff predicted some big things coming off of the bench in his game preview and he was not wrong.
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Nikola Jokic
Nikola Jokic always makes watching Denver Nuggets basketball a treat. The Joker had one of his infamous no-look passes to Gary Harris.
Jokic started the game for Denver and played 21 minutes. In those 21 minutes, Jokic was able to put up 12 points on 7-10 shots. The Joker also contributed 6 rebounds and 2 assists in the preseason opener.
Paul Millsap/Mason Plumlee
Millsap and Plumlee both had spectacular opening nights last night. Paul Millsap, who started in his first game as a Nugget, played 25 minutes. Within his 25 minutes on the floor, Millsap shot 7-11 from the field for 22 points. He also had 11 rebounds, 2 assists, and a single steal.
Mason Plumlee, who recently resigned with the Nuggets for the next three years, came off of the bench for 12 points, 10 rebounds, and one steal.
Emmanuel Mudiay
The end of last season was one that was not good for Emmanuel Mudiay. He saw little to no playing time (with the exception of the last few games of the season).
Mudiay came back last night and had 28 minutes off of the bench. Emmanuel had 19 points on 6-10 from the field, 3-4 from beyond the arc, and 4-6 from the charity stripe. The young point guard even had 2 rebounds and 6 assists to dish out to his teammates.
Nuggets: Warriors:
FG%: 44.4% 41.5%
3PT%: 46.4% 12.1%
FT: 67.6% 83.3%
Rebounds: 48 53
Assists: 23 17
The Nuggets will play their next preseason game against the Lakers in Los Angeles tomorrow, October 2 at 8:30 pm.
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