The Denver Nuggets earned one of the team’s best road victories of the season last night in Detroit, ending the Pistons’ eight-game winning streak with a 134-119 triumph. Led by Jamal Murray’s 31 points and another colossal triple-double from MVP candidate Nikola Jokic, Denver scored 39 points in the first quarter and 39 again in the third.
Basketball, as they say, is “a game of runs,” and both explosions were spurred along by big scoring spurts from the Nuggets. The first-quarter run saw Denver turn an early four-point deficit into a sizable 18-point advantage. After Detroit climbed back into the ballgame by halftime, the Nuggets used another outburst in the third, extending a five-point cushion to 25.
Let’s look at how the Nuggets used those two sequences to sprint past the Pistons at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
Climbing Out of an Early Four-Point Hole
Following an Ausar Thompson dunk at 9:29, the Nuggets leveraged a 25-3 run to build a lead they’d never surrender. The first offensive possession of the series saw Murray navigate a series of screens before kicking the ball out to MIP candidate Christian Braun on the right wing for three when Thompson committed a step toward the paint. Splash.
The subsequent chain of events spotlighted Zeke Nnaji’s recent streak of good play, with the fifth-year pro out of Arizona scrambling behind Jokic’s aggressive at-the-level defense to force an errant pass turnover from Cade Cunningham. The next defensive possession featured Nnaji swatting Ausar Thompson’s dunk at the rim before running the court in transition and drawing a foul.
After knocking down his second free throw, Nnaji closed out excellently on Tim Hardaway Jr.’s three-point attempt, tipping the shot. Zeke then collected a Murray miss on the offensive end and found a wide-open Braun, who cashed another three.
A missed runner from Thompson precipitated a Murray step-back make from 26 feet in Cunningham’s face after a Braun screen forced Thompson to switch off Denver’s Canadian point guard.
Nnaji kept the early energy up, diving on the floor for a loose ball after a bad pass from Cade, who fouled Nnaji on the ground. Jokic hit Michael Porter Jr. for three on the offensive side before a Pistons timeout. Out of the break, Nnaji once again swatted a shot attempt, this one a layup from Hardaway Jr.
Braun hit a layup in transition on the other end, but Nnaji once again bowed up on defense, forcing Tobias Harris into a tough turnaround miss in the post. Zeke was everywhere during his first stint, making life challenging on the Pistons’ offense.
After a Murray miss in the paint, Malone dialed up a beautiful out-of-bounds play that saw MPJ inbound to Zeke, who sent the rock right back to his frontcourt mate for an open corner three. Harris then hit a three over Nnaji off a nice assist from former Nugget Malik Beasley. A nice little two-man game between Braun and Jokic saw the Serbian big man splash an eight-foot floater.
In the wake of a Beasley miss from three, Murray went one-on-one against his former backcourt companion on the other end, showing off an array of dribble moves before backing Beasley down and hitting the hanging five-footer — and the and-one free throw. This team reaches a much higher level when Murray is near the top of his game.
The incredible first-quarter run was capped by another Murray make, this one on the right baseline after he shook free from a pair of Pistons defenders. With the Nuggets ahead 30-12, they’d surely coast to victory, right?
Not so fast, my friend. Shout out to Lee Corso.
The Pistons clawed back at the end of the first and throughout the second quarter, trimming the deficit to five by halftime. But that’s when the Nuggets cranked it up again.
Putting the Game Away … for Good
Detroit brought the game within four points early in the third quarter on a Duren dunk around the 10-minute mark. On the offensive end, a nifty behind-the-back dribble freed Jokic to find an open MPJ at the top of the three-point line for another trey. Another Hardaway Jr. missed three allowed Denver to take advantage with a little “Murray flurry” over the next several minutes:
- A step-back three over Harris.
- A nice pull-up jumper out of the two-man game with Jokic.
- A made free throw after drawing a foul on the drive.
- An assist, swinging to Nnaji for a corner three-point make that forced a Pistons timeout.
- Another step-back three from the left wing off a nice screen from Jokic.
- A technical free throw make.
- Another three-pointer from the right wing, once again freed up by Jokic.
- A nice over-the-head assist to Jokic cutting into the paint.
During the flurry, Detroit managed an Ausar Thompson dunk and a pair of free throws from Cunningham, as well as an and-one layup and a rugged make after pushing CB with his off-hand. However, Braun also made a pair of layups streaking in transition. Jokic hit a bunny from two feet out, and Braun knocked down a free throw.
With the Nuggets ahead 100-77, the third-quarter masterpiece ended with a Jokic six-foot push shot for two points at 2:50. Up 25, the Nuggets never looked back again and even enjoyed garbage time for the game’s final three and a half minutes.
During the 27-9 run to open the third quarter, the Nuggets shot 71.4% (10 for 14) versus Detroit’s 21.4% (3 for 14).
Despite playing the second game of a back-to-back, Denver’s two dominant runs showed it can lock in flex its muscle against a quality opponent.
Can the Nuggets Replicate these Runs?
I think so. Maybe not the massive 20-point advantages, but they have the tools to consistently make shots on one end and force misses on the other.
Nnaji’s energy set the tone defensively early, rotating and contesting shots all over the floor. On the other end, ball movement and shotmaking keyed the generation of offense. The Nuggets are at their best when everyone eats, and last night saw the four normal starters each score at least 23 points. That’s good stuff.
Is it replicable? Absolutely, against weaker Eastern Conference teams like Detroit. Against more challenging playoff-caliber opponents? Doing so is more difficult, but Denver has the talent to string together 10-0 or 15-2 stretches regularly, especially when Murray gets cooking and they’re locked in on D.
To me, the blueprint is there: Smart on defense, fluid on offense and powered by a three-time MVP in complete control of the game. If the defensive focus can match the offensive execution, the Nuggets will overwhelm teams on both ends. Expect more runs like these, even if 25-3 or 27-9 extremes aren’t the norm every night.