Nuggets’ lack of composure, Celtics’ stunning, 40-8 run leads to blowout loss
Apr 12, 2021, 7:10 AM
The Nuggets’ frustration with NBA refereeing reached a head on Sunday as Denver turned a 14-point lead in the third quarter into a 40-8 flood of Celtics points that snapped the Nuggets’ eight-game winning streak in an ugly, 105-87 loss.
MVP candidate Nikola Jokic had yet another triple-double with 17 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, but had only one first-half basket and drew a technical foul in the second half on his way to being pulled from the game with roughly four minutes to go.
“Regarding Nikola, he gets frustrated with the referees and what he perceives to be a lack of calls, and you understand that,” coach Michael Malone said. “But that can never take you away from your duty as a basketball player. So that’s something that he, myself and all of us can definitely be better at.”
Malone has been increasing his complaints to the zebras and was even ejected from a game last week as the Nuggets’ befuddlement regarding their lack of calls has given way to bouts of anger that seem to too often distract them from the game itself.
Jokic, however, pushed back on the suggestion that the Nuggets might be worried too much about the refs, saying, “I think the whole 30 teams are complaining and whining. We are just one of them. It’s just how the game goes. They’re doing their job. We need to do our job. Sometimes it’s miscommunication, like arguments, of course, like in every job.”
In truth, the data shows that the Nuggets have a legitimate argument when it comes to foul and free-throw disparity, and working the refs has been refined to an art form in the NBA. But it wasn’t a lack of calls that led to the Nuggets’ baffling demise on Sunday, it was a lack of focus and effort.
“We have to be better. They turned up the heat, got into us, switched everything, and we allowed that to kill our offensive flow, and then we started complaining and whining, not getting back. Not competing,” Malone said. “(But) the best thing about the NBA is we get on a plane this afternoon, go to Golden State, and try to right the ship and play at a much higher level than we played today.”
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NEXT UP: Nuggets (34-19) vs. Warriors (25-28) | Monday, Apr. 12 at 8:00 p.m. | TV: ESPN
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TEAM NOTES
• The Nuggets’ bench unit was disastrous on Sunday, allowing the Celtics to roar back while looking incapable of generating any offense of their own. Only P.J. Dozier hit more than one shot, going 3-for-6 from the field. The rest of the bench — Monte Morris (1-for-6), JaMychal Green (1-for-6), Paul Millsap (1-for-5), Zeke Nnaji (0-for-3), Bol Bol (0-for-1) and Vlatko Cancar (0-for-1) shot a combined, nightmarish 13.6 percent.
• The Nuggets’ top four bench players earned horrific plus-minus ratings on Sunday. Monte Morris, Paul Millsap and JaMychal Green were each minus-23, while P.J. Dozier was even worse with a minus-30.
• Sunday’s loss broke the Nuggets’ eight-game winning streak and gave them their first loss since acquiring Aaron Gordon and JaVale McGee at the trade deadline. It’s important not to overreact, however — the Nuggets have still gone 17-4 since Feb. 27.
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PLAYER NOTES
• Jamal Murray missed his fourth consecutive game with a sore right knee, but Sunday’s game was the only the first time the Nuggets lost in his absence.
• Facundo Campazzo, starring for the injured Jamal Murray, had what was probably the best game of his career in Sunday’s loss, going 5-for-6 from the field for 14 points to go along with four assists and three rebounds.
• Michael Porter Jr. led the Nuggets with 22 points and 11 rebounds, but he shot only 9-for-23 from the floor, including an abysmal 1-for-12 from behind the arc. That broke a 17-game streak in which Porter Jr. shot 50 precent or better from the field.
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THE FINAL WORD
“I remember going out in the third quarter with like three minutes left, and we were up 14. And then, all of a sudden, they were up 10. I don’t even remember how it turned around like that.” — Michael Porter Jr.
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INJURY WATCH
• Jamal Murray (knee) missed the Apr. 6 through Apr. 11 games and is day-to-day.
• Greg Whittington (knee) last played on Mar. 15 and is considered week-to-week.
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ROTATION (MINUTES)
Starters:
G Facundo Campazzo (33)
G-F Will Barton (34)
F Michael Porter Jr. (35)
F Aaron Gordon (31)
C Nikola Jokic (32)
Bench:
G Monte Morris (19)
G-F P.J. Dozier (17)
F JaMychal Green (14)
F Paul Millsap (12)
F Zeke Nnaji (8)
F Bol Bol (2)
F Vlatko Cancar (2)
G Markus Howard (2)
C JaVale McGee (DNP-CD)
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Shawn Drotar is the host of “The Fan Late Night with Shawn Drotar;” weeknights from 10:00 p.m. to midnight — only on 104.3 The Fan. Follow him on Twitter at @sdrotar.
