The Denver Nuggets were sluggish in the first quarter of the second game in a back to back, but came to life in the 2nd quarter and never looked back.
Denver’s starters sputtered early against the Cavaliers trailing 27-15 after the first quarter.
The bench unit came out firing on all cylinders in a 35 point second quarter while holding the Cavs to 15. From there it was relatively smooth sailing for the Nuggets against an over matched Cleveland squad.
I had some up and down takes from this game I’ll share with you.
More from Nugg Love
- Was trading Bones Hyland a mistake for the Denver Nuggets?
- Did Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets break Anthony Davis?
- Denver Nuggets stars face serious disrespect in recent NBA rankings poll
- What will it take for Denver Nuggets star to become ‘inevitable?’
- Denver Nuggets NBA Training Camp report, other preseason dates to know
The starters played much better after the slow start, but never really had to be the driving force in this one. Every win is a good win, but the offense appeared stuck in neutral for much of the game when the starting five was on the floor.
Players were seemingly passing up good looks until someone would have to eventually take a tough shot late in the possession. Lucky for them the second unit lead a great second quarter and the game was never really in question again. I thought Gary Harris was again invaluable in his minutes despite a bit of an off shooting night.
Paul Millsap had a stretch where his presence and competitiveness drove his unit. Paul led the starters with 16 pts. Nikola Jokic had a forgettable night where he seemed hesitant to shoot or go inside and Jamal Murray seems be having trouble finding his niche with the starters despite shooting the ball well.
The Bench was a much brighter story with Juancho Hernangomez taking full advantage of his extended minutes scoring 23 points on 10 shots.
Mason Plumlee had a strong effort proving he may be the best backup center in the NBA. Trey Lyles provided his aggressiveness on offense and the boards, and Monte Morris again looked the part of a quality backup point guard in this one.
Torrey Craig‘s defensive prowess wasn’t needed much in this contest so his minutes were limited and Malik Beasley struggled a bit from the field, but still provided some necessary spark and a monster jam.
Overall I continue to enjoy the wins from the Nuggets while seeing chinks in the armor.
I’ll trust in these guys to work that all out in order to beat fellow contenders starting Saturday Night versus the Utah Jazz.