After ending off a 122-110 highway victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Nov. 3, Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone let loose a sigh of reduction.
Malone was relieved his crew had survived a 37-point, 13-of-17 capturing effort from the Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
“That guy is unguardable,” Malone mentioned. “I mean he is a hell of a player.”
On Wednesday, Malone and the Nuggets face the Thunder for the primary time since that recreation because the groups play in Oklahoma City.
While Gilgeous-Alexander has been glorious within the Thunder’s two video games in opposition to the Nuggets, Denver’s Nikola Jokic has been even higher.
Jokic has averaged 17 factors, 14.5 rebounds and 13.5 assists in these video games, each Nuggets wins. Two of Jokic’s three triple-doubles this season have come in opposition to the Thunder.
Jokic almost picked up his fourth of the season Tuesday evening in a 110-108 residence loss to Detroit. He completed with 31 factors, 9 rebounds and 10 assists. It was Jokic’s first recreation again after lacking three video games on account of well being and security protocols.
Jamal Murray additionally has performed a serious position in Denver’s wins over the Thunder this season, averaging 20 factors in these video games.
Murray’s return from lacking two video games on account of well being and security protocols did not go as swimmingly as Jokic’s. He was simply 3-for-12 within the loss to the Pistons.
The Nuggets have performed only one back-to-back this season, and Murray has but to play on consecutive nights since coming back from the harm that stored him out all of final season.
Denver has misplaced three of its final 4.
This would be the twelfth highway recreation of the Nuggets’ first 18. No crew within the league has performed fewer residence video games.
The Thunder have misplaced back-to-back video games and 7 of their final 10.
A giant motive for Oklahoma City’s latest slide has been its protection.
“We’ve been bad on that end,” Oklahoma City’s Josh Giddey mentioned. “There’s no sugarcoating it. We’ve given up a lot of points. In some games it’s been overshadowed by us winning games.”
In early November, the Thunder have been within the prime 10 within the league in defensive effectivity. But, within the final seven video games, the Thunder have surrendered a median of greater than 125 factors per recreation. They are twenty eighth within the league in defensive effectivity, permitting 117.6 factors per 100 possessions.
“We gotta get back to work,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault mentioned. “We gotta dig in a little bit. I’m not questioning our guys’ effort by any stretch of the imagination, but we’ve gotta dig in and have some pride on that end of the floor.
“It’s nothing that is not within us.”
Denver’s Jeff Green will miss his second consecutive game with a bone bruise in his right knee.
Bones Hyland, the Nuggets’ leading bench scorer, left Tuesday’s loss in the second quarter due to an illness and did not return.
The Thunder will be without Mike Muscala, who suffered a broken pinky in Monday’s loss to the Knicks. Aleksej Pokusevski is expected to miss his second consecutive game with a left ankle sprain.
–Field Level Media
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