MINNEAPOLIS — Aaron Gordon transformed into Steph Curry, Christian Braun put the NBA on notice with his athleticism, and Nikola Jokic was dazzling as usual. And still, the Nuggets didn’t have enough to overcome the loss of Jamal Murray in Minnesota.
Murray exited the game and entered concussion protocol early in the second half, and Denver’s 16-point comeback was overshadowed by a 10-point blown lead in the last 3:30 of a 119-116 loss Friday night to the Timberwolves.
“Jamal is our closer,” said Gordon, who scored 31 points in a 5-for-7 night from 3-point range. “So when he’s not on the floor, it’s just a little bit more sporadic.”
Anthony Edwards scored on a floater over Michael Porter Jr. with 25.7 seconds left for the lead, and the Nuggets were unable to get a good shot off as Braun drove into traffic on the ensuing possession. Rudy Gobert made a pair of free throws, then Jokic missed a contested corner 3-pointer as time expired. Jokic finished with 26 points, nine rebounds and 13 assists. Porter matched his 26 points. But Edwards went for 29, and Gobert contributed 17 points, 14 rebounds, two blocks and a series of superb defensive possessions at the end.
Both teams erased double-digit deficits during the fourth quarter.
Murray’s status is unknown for Saturday night’s back-to-back game against the Jazz, Nuggets coach Michael Malone said after the loss. Play continued for multiple possessions without a stoppage after the collision that caused Murray’s injury, while he was clearly in pain.
“I don’t know how they missed that,” Malone said. “He was going to set a rip screen. And his defender, not malicious, it wasn’t a dirty play, but pushed him. And it was just a lot of bodies moving at a high rate of speed. And I think he hit his head. I don’t know if it was Julius (Randle) or Aaron or who exactly was involved. But it definitely was a significant hit, so obviously we’ll always prioritize his health and safety. And make sure he’s in a good place. If he’s not able to play, obviously we’re hoping to get him back as soon as possible, but I just don’t want to speculate because I really don’t know any more details with it.”
The Nuggets largely out-played Minnesota but were outscored by 21 from the 3-point line throughout that night. That trend was evident early on, as they jumped out to a quick 12-2 lead in the paint, assisted 12 of their 13 made baskets in the first quarter, and capitalized on five Timberwolves turnovers by getting up nine more shot attempts than them in the frame.
It didn’t matter, because Minnesota shot 7 for 12 from outside. Winning the math game meant having the lead. It was 33-29.
Then the second unit happened. Denver fell behind by as many as 16 after its four bench players combined to shoot 1 for 14 in the first half.
Russell Westbrook, whose minutes had started innocently enough with three assists, started making sloppy plays. Michael Malone pulled the plug and subbed in Braun after just eight minutes of the backup point guard. Then Gordon and Porter immediately carried an 11-0 run by pushing the tempo and knocking down jumpers. Braun drew a foul while dunking in transition. The starting five seized back control even with Murray on the periphery again.
Malone had predicted pregame that unlike in Toronto and Brooklyn, the Nuggets couldn’t afford to fall behind “15 or 17” against this team. He was right, technically. But they could afford to fall behind 16. For the time being, anyway.
Malone made a tweak to his rotation before Murray’s injury. He went 10-deep for the first time this season, using Hunter Tyson to give Porter a rest after staggering. Tyson’s night was mostly quiet, but he did contribute an important sequence at the end of the third quarter by scoring his first points then contesting a Randle shot at the buzzer. That got Denver within six entering the fourth, setting up a critical stretch of Jokic rest minutes in which the gap expanded to 12 then contracted to four. (Another Gordon 3-pointer helped.)
Initially after Murray’s injury, Malone went to Strawther first, using a lineup without a point guard for a stretch of the third quarter. After Strawther’s stint with the second unit, which included drawing a three-shot foul, Westbrook filled Murray’s slot in the closing lineup.
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