Denver Nuggets dominated by Ish Smith, Wizards

The Denver Nuggets top performers against the Washington Wizards

Jamal Murray: 39 points, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 block 13-19 shooting, 3-7 3-pointers 10-10 FTs

There’s no question that teams are attacking Murray’s defense, but he more than did his part on the offensive side tonight. He started slow but eventually was able to make shots from all over the floor and give the Nuggets the spark they needed to claw back into the game.

Paul Millsap: 12 points, 5 rebounds, 6-7 FTs

The numbers aren’t flashy, but it wasn’t until Millsap asserted himself in the paint that the Nuggets were able to get back into the game in the second quarter. After the bench allowed the Wizards to jump out to a big lead, Millsap took advantage of the smaller defenders and stabilized the game a bit for the Denver.

Nikola Jokic: 14 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 10-10 FTs

It was another curious game for the Joker as he appeared set for a dominant game, hitting a pretty turnaround hook-shot to open the scoring and knocking down a three-point basket early on. Still, once again, whether it was due to his passiveness or the rest of the team looking a different direction, Jokic was mostly a non-factor despite his effectiveness. A bright spot was the four second half assists, as it was his first assists in the past six quarters of gameplay.

Hopefully, there’s more to celebrate over the next week, but the schedule certainly doesn’t get any easier.