The Denver Nuggets may not have won Monday night as they fell 103-102 to the Los Angeles Clippers in their preseason opener, but they did have a few positive things happen like the play of MPJ and Bones Hyland.
It was a phenomenal start for the Nuggets season — even in a sling effort — specifically for Michael Porter Jr. who is barely a week removed from signing a five-year, max contract. Porter went OFF in the first quarter scoring 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field, 2-of-4 from beyond the three-point line. It was not just scoring where Porter made his mark early as he also hauled in four rebounds.
Porter would ultimately finish the game with 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field, 3-of-5 from three to go along with seven rebounds. All of that came in just 22 minutes as Porter truly made the most of his playing time starting his season off on a high note.
Another player who had a strong showing on both ends of the floor was PJ Dozier, which was nice to see after how much time he missed last season due to injury. Dozier finished the night with 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field in 22 minutes to go along with four rebounds, three assists, two steals, and two blocks. Just a do it all performance by Dozier, which was nice to see considering the Nuggets need him to have a breakout season.
One other standout for the Nuggets was the play of rookie Bones Hyland, who showed out in his first game with Denver. Hyland played like a player who wants a rotation spot early in the season scoring 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field, 1-of-5 from three, and also hauled in four rebounds and dished out two assists. It was a bizzy day for Bones, who set the tone for what hopefully ends up being a solid NBA career in a Nuggets jersey.
As you can see in the video above, Bol Bol also got some run tonight and played pretty well. The highlight from Bol’s night was that he had five blocks, FIVE to go along with 11 points and five rebounds. Bol also chad four turnovers and committed four fouls in 20 minutes of action so there is certainly room for improvement, but Bol did look a ton more engaged on both ends of the floor.
All in all it was a nice start to the preseason for Denver and they will look to build on it and pick up their first victory of the season Wednesday night when they face the Golden State Warriors. Also, what better way to end your night than watching this highlight about 1,000 times on repeat. Enjoy!
