First Quarter
The game started off with each team trading buckets. The Nuggets would get some separation, then the Wolves would come back and get a little separation, and the Nuggets would close the gap. It kept in that cycle for a while. Christian Braun and Michael Porter Jr. led the charge in terms of scoring for the first stint. Bruan had 7 points in the first 6 minutes, and MPJ had 6. It was 18-16 by the 6 minute mark in favor of the Nuggets, and that’s when subs started to trickle in.
To say the Nuggets bench struggled in the first half would be an understatement. By the end of the first quarter, the score was 29-33. The Timberwolves led off the back of Anthony Edwards, who clamped up Jamal Murray holding him to only 2 points, and scoring 9 himself. The starters played well, but the bench would have to come in and support them.
Second Quarter
The second quarter started off with the Nuggets just collapsing. They didn’t play good defense, and the bench lineups just weren’t working. They went down early on 29-43. The deficit got all the way to 16 at one point. The bench was just horrendous. They went a combined 1-14 in the first half – Julian Strawther being the only bench player to score. Russell Westbrook? 0-5. Peyton Watson? 0-4. Dario Saric? 0-3. None of them could buy a bucket for the life of them. The defense didn’t look good, the offense looked worse, and the entire unit looked discombobulated.
It was a disaster class early from the Nuggets, and it took the starters coming back in for their fortunes to change. The Nuggets’ starters managed to claw their way back from 16 down to make it close again. This was mainly behind Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon. The two of them started to make it rain from outside the arc, going on a 9-0 personal run against the Wolves among other contributions. It started the trend of AG tonight as well – he cooked from three point range. Christian Braun also had some nice contributions, including a dime to AG that will be on his end of season highlight reel. Nuggets went in to the half down 61-64.
Third Quarter
The third quarter was one that saw the Nuggets stay close, but in potentially the most frustrating way possible. They were always within striking distance, but didn’t have that punch to get them back in front. They were always right there, but the bench didn’t provide any punch. The starters did what they could, but at some point they would need some help from anyone – it didn’t come, at least not yet.
They would pull within two, but then it would end up being five, then they’d make it a three point game, only for it to become an eight point game. It took the starters playing a good amount, and it still ended as a multiple possession game at the end of the third. Aaron Gordon was a huge reason that they were in it. He made three 3 pointers in the quarter.
Fourth Quarter
The fourth quarter was the do or die moment. There was a sense of momentum. They went on a 22-3 run, and went up by 10 at one point. Aaron Gordon was cooking, Christian Braun had the dunk of the year, and you could feel it shifting towards the Nuggets. Jamal Murray got a concussion in the third quarter, so they had to close with Russell Westbrook, but he played well too. Dario Saric got benched for Hunter Tyson, and he had some pretty okay minutes. The bench started to produce a bit thanks to Russ, and by the time the starters came back in, it was closer than when they left.
That’s a rare thing for the Nuggets, and they had so many things go well for them. Their defense was not good, but AG had five threes, CB was playing very well, Russ played great in the second half. However, it wasn’t meant to be. Jokic was too passive on the last possession. He passed up a wide open floater, and that resulted in Christian Braun driving to try and put the Nuggets up by 1, because the Wolves got the lead back off Ant blowing by MPJ easily. Despite the close game, the Nuggets came up short. They played better than they have the rest of this season to me, so there are positive takeaways, but it still stings.
Music Recommendation
For those of you who didn’t read the preview for this game, I’m going to start recommending some songs based off the game. Previews, recaps, and sometimes in editorials I’ll just throw something in that I think fits the vibe. This one will be The New Year by Death Cab for Cutie. It’s a song I’ve listened to when I want change in my life, and it just hasn’t come yet. That feels like this season so far. You want to see the new season bring more, you want to see a better team, but sometimes it doesn’t feel any different.