WHAT THEY SAID:
Nuggets coach Michael Malone on the game in general: “I loved the fact that being down by 24 (points), we didn’t just roll over and give in. We found a group that went out there and competed, cut [the lead] to nine and actually had a chance to cut it below nine but (Washington) came up with a loose ball. I thought (Washington) won all of the 50/50 balls, they out worked us in that regard. Obviously, anytime you let a team score 123 on 57 from the field, and 42 from the three, is going to make for a long night.”
Malone on Washington guard John Wall: “He’s one of the quickest guards in the NBA and he had stretch at the end of the first and into the second where he had consecutive back to back coast-to-coast drives. That can’t happen. We have to get back; we have to set our defense up. One guy is going to have a hard time containing (him). It has to be a team effort. He was able to get where he wanted. Bradley Beal was able to get whatever threes he wanted and obviously Otto Porter Jr. contributed being a third scorer. We definitely took a step backwards tonight and hopefully we can straighten that out before we play Boston on Friday.”
Nuggets guard Gary Harris on the team being shorthanded: “No excuses. We’ve been down people all year. We’ve beat teams shorthanded so that’s not an excuse at all. It definitely hurts not having them, but we also have to go out there and compete. We are out there trying to get a win.”
Nuggets center Mason Plumlee on the team playing better in the second half: “We can’t do it for a half against a good team. We have to play a full four quarters against the better teams in the league.”
NOTES:
- Both Danilo Gallinari and Nikola Jokic missed the game due to illness. Gallinari came down with a case of vertigo, while Jokic has the flu. Jokic has not played in a game this week. The duo is considered day-to-day.
- Gary Harris’ 26 points in the game is not only a career high for him, but his six 3-point makes are also a career high for him in a single game.
- The Wizards swept the Nuggets in the season series, making it the third time in the last five seasons that they have swept the Nuggets. It is only the sixth time since 1976-77 that the Nuggets have gone winless against Washington.
- Mason Plumlee’s 19 points and 10 rebounds was his third double-double with the Nuggets and his 17th double-double of the season. He started the game at center in place of Jokic, which was his third time in the starting lineup with the Nuggets. In those starts, Plumlee is averaging 13.3 points, 10.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists.
- John Wall had 30 points and 10 assists in the game, the 12th time in his career he’s hit the 30/10 mark. Three of those have come this season.
- The Nuggets were 8-of-17 (47.1 percent) from the free throw line. It is the fourth time in the franchise’s NBA history that the Nuggets took at least 17 free throws, but made less than 48 percent of them. Additionally, it’s the first time this has ever happened at home.