Porter Jr., Gordon step up in Murray’s place as Nuggets dominate Heat
Apr 15, 2021, 6:33 AM
There’s no replacing Jamal Murray, whose season ended in the final minute against the Warriors on Monday. That doesn’t mean the Nuggets won’t try.
“You play to win a championship. One person down, next man up,” Michael Porter Jr. said, after scoring a team-leading 25 points and adding 10 rebounds in the Nuggets’ surprisingly easy 123-106 win over the visiting Heat. “The goal’s the same. I think we have the talent to do it.”
While the Nuggets’ first-ever championship is likely to elude them after Murray’s left ACL tear, they came out with fire, looking to tell the rest of the NBA that they won’t roll over for anyone.
“We’re underdogs,” head coach Michael Malone said. “They want to talk about other teams, let them talk about them. As devastated as we are for Jamal Murray, we still have a tremendous opportunity in front of us. And if we waste that, it will be a travesty.”
They didn’t on Wednesday; Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon and Nikola Jokic made certain of that. Gordon, who’s seamlessly fit in to the Nuggets’ unusual passing offense led by Jokic, looked to score more on Wednesday and pick up some of the slack left by Murray’s absence. Gordon’s 16 points and nine rebounds marked his second-highest scoring total and best rebounding total since joining the Nuggets, and his high-energy defense didn’t change in the process as he limited Miami’s Jimmy Butler to only 13 points on the night.
It was Jokic, though, that led the way… by doing what he’s done all season long.
Logging his 15th triple-double of the year by scoring 17 points, handing out 11 assists and collecting 10 rebounds, the Nuggets’ MVP candidate defied the notion that Denver’s diminished status as a contender will change anything for his team.
“I mean, I’m the underdog my whole life, to be honest. I am kind of used to it. It is a normal position for me,” Jokic explained. “(Playing as an underdog) gives us a lot of relief. We are not going to be tense. We are just going to play. We just need to figure these 16, 17 games, how we want to play. We need to build it. It is not going to happen in a moment.”
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NEXT UP: Nuggets (35-20) at Rockets (14-41) | Friday, Apr. 16 at 6:00 p.m.
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TEAM NOTES
• Reports on Wednesday afternoon had the Nuggets closing in on a deal with veteran guard Austin Rivers, who was waived by the Thunder after being acquired in a three-team trade from the Knicks in March. Rivers, 28, would add ball-handling skills, defensive energy and enough scoring to be a threat. Given what’s available around the league, he’s clearly the best option, and would allow the Nuggets to avoid leaning on undersized point guard Facundo Campazzo, who has looked overmatched for the majority of the season.
• In a straw poll conducted by ESPN, Nikola Jokic took 90 of the 101 (89.1 percent) of the first-place votes. Jokic is averaging career highs of 26.9 points, 10.9 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game while also shooting 41.8 percent from three-point range and hitting his free throws at an 85.4 percent clip. Jokic, who unlike the league’s more heralded MVP candidates, hasn’t missed a game this season, was the only player listed on all 101 ballots. Only Joel Embiid (82) and Giannis Antetokoumpo (81) were listed on more than 70. If Jokic were to win the MVP, he’d be the first center to win the award since Shaquille O’Neal 21 years ago.
• In the win over the Heat on Wednesday, six Nuggets scored in double-digits, spreading out the weight that the offense will now have to carry without Jamal Murray. Not a single Nugget was negative in the plus-minus category on Wednesday.
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PLAYER NOTES
• Michael Porter Jr. scored a team-high 25 points on 10-of-14 (71.4 percent) shooting. Porter Jr.’s highly-efficient scoring this season — he’s shot under 50 percent in only one of his last 20 games — will be needed following the loss of Jamal Murray. Porter Jr.’s growth this season has been astonishing, and it’s possible that this opportunity might spur him to another level.
• P.J. Dozier has been asked to do a lot this season. On a bench unit full of ‘bigs’ and young players, Dozier has to provide scoring, defense and even act as a floor general at times. Thus far, he’s handled most everything the Nuggets have thrown at him, and on Wednesday, he scored 15 points, had four assists and three rebounds — and led the team with three steals — in 28 minutes off the bench.
• Will Barton struggled on Wednesday, looking like a player trying to do too much in an effort to make up for Jamal Murray’s absence. Barton shot 2-for-8 on the night, while tying for the team lead in fouls (four) and turnovers (two).
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THE FINAL WORD
“It’s been an emotional 24, 36 hours. Jamal is devastated, understandably so. I think the team is also a little.” — Head coach Michael Malone, on his team’s mindset following Jamal Murray’s season-ending injury.
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INJURY WATCH
• Jamal Murray (torn left ACL) was injured in the final minute of the Apr. 12 game. His season is over, and realistically, Murray will be out until at least the 2022 All-Star break.
• Shaquille Harrison (COVID-19 protocols) has yet to play with the Nuggets since his signing on Apr. 9.
• Greg Whittington (knee) last played on Mar. 15 and is considered week-to-week.
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ROTATION (MINUTES)
Starters:
G Monte Morris (26)
G-F Will Barton (25)
F Michael Porter Jr. (33)
F Aaron Gordon (27)
C Nikola Jokic (32)
Bench:
G-F P.J. Dozier (28)
G Facundo Campazzo (26)
F JaMychal Green (19)
F Paul Millsap (13)
F Bol Bol (3)
F Vlatko Cancar (3)
G Markus Howard (3)
F Zeke Nnaji (3)
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.
