The Denver Nuggets were able to limit LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in preseason game number one.
The Denver Nuggets came into this game being relatively overlooked. Much of this was due to the hype surrounding the Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James donning the purple and gold for the first time.
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However, the Nuggets were able to spoil his debut by winning by a final score of 124-107. The Nuggets’ defense limited James to just 2-6 shooting in the 15 minutes he played.
For the Denver Nuggets, their offense has not missed a beat from last year as they were free flowing and getting quality shot attempts for the entire game. As a result, seven different Denver players finished with double figures to end the night.
Juancho Hernangomez lit it up as he was finding himself open for three after three and ended with a team high 19 points while shooting 62.5% from three point land.
Jamal Murray looked calmed and collected throughout the game as he controlled the tempo and finished with 18 points while looking like a leader. For example, he took Jokic to the side to calm him down at one point when Nikola Jokic was unhappy with a call made by the officials. This is a leadership quality right here.
Speaking of Jokic, he finished with 14 points to go along with four rebounds and three assists.
Where the spark came from was the second unit as Malik Beasley had 12 points on a perfect four for four shooting, Trey Lyles with 14 points and seven rebounds, Monte Morris with 12 points and Mason Plumlee came away with 11 points.
This was a great all around game by Denver. There were some obvious kinks to work out which is to be expected in the first preseason game, but if they play like this on a consistent basis, then a promising year is in store