There won’t be a third chance to test the theory this season, but when the Nuggets play the Hornets, the games seem to follow an algorithm.
It takes the Nuggets 24 minutes and a halftime wake-up call to start taking Charlotte seriously. Once they do, order is restored.
For the second time in 10 days, Denver used an alarmingly lopsided third quarter to vanquish the Hornets, winning 111-93 on Monday night to bounce back from its worst loss at Ball Arena in four years. In Charlotte on Dec. 23, the second half started with a 25-1 Nuggets run bolstered by 17 consecutive stops. The third quarter ended with a score of 30-9. This time, the Nuggets scored on eight consecutive possessions and 11 out of 12 during a 28-4 surge to open the half.
It was tied at 49 at halftime. It was 89-66 Denver at the end of the third. The cumulative third-quarter score between the Nuggets and Hornets this season was 70-26. In the other six quarters, Charlotte led 162-143. This was Charlotte’s 11th consecutive loss.
Unlike the last game, though, Nuggets coach Michael Malone said the halftime solution wasn’t a verbal kick in the rear.
“Completely different halftime,” Malone said. “In Charlotte that was the case, but tonight: Just stay the course. You can’t pull that card every night. So it was just, ‘Hey, we have to take care of the ball.’ … We played really good defense the first quarter. Second quarter, we didn’t play any defense.”
Jamal Murray led Denver (24-11) with 25 points and seven assists, punctuated by 11 points in the third on three shots. A key difference in the algorithm this time: The Nuggets protected their lead in the fourth instead of going back into a daze and needing to reinsert their starters down the stretch.
“I wonder how many games I haven’t played in the fourth,” Murray said. “There’s been a few games. But I think that’s a great opportunity for other guys to go out there and play aggressive, not just trying to hold the lead but play our game. So I think it’s good reps for the young guys, everybody out there.”
Michael Porter Jr. staggered with the second unit during those minutes as Charlotte went to a zone and finished a team-leading plus-33 while on the floor. He added 22 points, including a go-ahead corner three on the first possession of the half — the Nuggets were 40% from 3-point range — while Nikola Jokic went for 13 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.
Jokic, whose finishing at the rim has been down this season as a whole, has made 26 of 28 shots from the field in his last three games.
The matchup featured two notable players returning, in some fashion. Aaron Gordon played 24 minutes with stitches on his right hand and face after missing the last two games due to lacerations from a dog bite on Christmas. He was greeted with an especially loud applause from the home crowd as starting lineups were introduced. Gordon didn’t rebound as aggressively as usual, but he scored an efficient 10 points.
It was also Ish Smith’s first return to Ball Arena as an opposing player. The Nuggets gave him a pregame group hug at center court to accompany his NBA championship ring. Then the ball was tipped, and Murray went to work on his former teammate. Smith started at point guard for the second time this season, the other being Denver’s visit to Charlotte. Murray attempted seven of the Nuggets’ first 10 shots with Smith guarding him, making four field goals for 11 of the team’s first 15 points. Murray said he wasn’t giving Smith the ex-teammate treatment, though.
“I was just playing the game,” Murray said. “He went under the first screen, and then I think we did the post-up a couple plays down. I was just playing the game. I don’t look at it like that. But yeah, he can’t guard me.”
Meanwhile, Jokic was the last of Denver’s 10 participating players to attempt a shot. He finally did with 43 seconds remaining in the half, scoring on a cutting floater. Then the center came out firing in the second half. He scored seven of the team’s first 12 in the monstrous third quarter, as Malone made a helpful adjustment: unlocking Jokic with more pick-and-rolls in response to Charlotte double-teaming him on every post-up in the first half.
“I think Nikola especially, I think he became a lot more aggressive in that second half,” Malone said. “And that was great to see. He actually looked at the basket, scored, and then we started filing on all cylinders.”
But the highlight of the night was the newest candidate for Jokic’s best assist of the season so far. He found an open Peyton Watson in the corner with what can only be described as a punch-pass out of the post, as though he were rejecting the entry pass. Watson did it justice by draining the shot.
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