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Nuggets at 76ers | February 8

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The second week of the current road trip begins with the Nuggets looking to maintain momentum. They enter Monday night’s game at Philadelphia riding a two-game winning streak after victories at Chicago and Washington, but having played well in three straight road games.

They’ll need to draw on all of that to beat the Sixers. Philadelphia is one of the most-improved teams in the NBA – and at 24-13 at the Wells Fargo Center, it is one of the best home teams in the league as well. At 42-30 overall, the fourth-place 76ers have already clinched a spot in the playoffs and are looking to improve their seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Philadelphia boasts some of the league’s top young talent in point guard Ben Simmons, center Joel Embiid and forward Dario Saric. In March, only four teams are shooting a better percentage from the 3-point line than Philadelphia’s 39.7 percent.

One of those teams, however, is the Nuggets.

“They’re a good team,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “And they’re deep.”

Malone elaborated on what concerns him coming into the game.

“Their bench is phenomenal,” Malone said. “They share the ball…they have shooters all over the floor. …. I talked to our players; on this road trip we’re doing some things really well, but our 3-point defense has been horrific. We’re giving up 44.8 percent in four games. We’re giving up 14 threes a night in these four games.

“Now, conversely, thank goodness we’re doing a great job protecting our paint, only giving up 41 points a night in our paint. We’re doing a much better job of valuing the basketball. We’re not beating ourselves on the road. So, that’s helping. But (Monday) night the biggest concern for me is their 3-point shooting because they have shooters everywhere. And then after that it will be: Can we defend Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons in the post?”

The Nuggets, who are 1 ½ games behind Utah for the eighth spot in the Western Conference playoff race, have had success in Philadelphia. They’ve won two straight and four of the last six in the City of Brotherly Love. Still, this will be the most formidable 76ers team they’ve faced here in years.

And the Nuggets continue to play without their leading scorer, Gary Harris, who is working his way back through a right knee injury. On Sunday, Malone said the earliest Harris could return is Friday at Oklahoma City.

“It’s very unfortunate, because Gary lives for these moments,” Malone said. “Leading scorer, one of our best defenders, so it’s a big player to be without. But, I thought Will Barton the last couple of games has been fantastic. Jamal (Murray’s) been unbelievable. Nikola. So, everybody’s got to step up. It’s going to take a team effort to beat Philly and to make the playoffs.”

Christopher Dempsey: christopher.dempsey@altitude.tv and @chrisadempsey on Twitter

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Game Preview: Nuggets Look to Extend Winning Streak to Three

The book on Philadelphia this early season was that it struggled without its star, Joel Embiid. In fact, the 76ers had won just once without him in the lineup all season long. Additionally, the Nuggets entered the night as one of the best home teams in the league.

But the NBA makes you earn it every night out. And Philadelphia was up to the task on Saturday night, stealing a 107-102 victory over the Nuggets at the Pepsi Center. Or, as the Nuggets put it afterwards, their shooting wasn’t up to the task for the full 48 minutes.

In the first half, the Nuggets shot 52 percent from the field (24-of-46) and were led by stellar play out of Jamal Murray (18 points), Gary Harris (12), Will Barton (12) and Trey Lyles (10). They had 61 points as a team.

Second half shooting, however, was as frigid as the first half was hot.

The Nuggets made just 11-of-41 shots in the final 24 minutes. After starting off the third quarter on an 11-0 run, Philadelphia outscored the Nuggets 49-30 to end the game. Contained within that was a 33-7 run spanning the third and fourth quarters.

“I loved the effort and the defense we started that third quarter with,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “I think they were one for their first 10 shots. And then after that, obviously, they started getting whatever they wanted.”

Meanwhile, the Nuggets couldn’t hit. Part of it was due to Philadelphia doing a much better job of walling off the paint. In the first half, the Nuggets had 38 points in the paint, scoring on 19-of-25 shots. In the second half, they were forced into tougher shots and more jump shots. In the first half, only 45 percent of their shots were jumpers. About 49 percent of their shots in the second half were jump shots. And with the Nuggets missing a good chunk of them, the Sixers were able to capitalize.

Nuggets center Nikola Jokić said that in the third quarter, the Sixers “were playing aggressive, they were playing together more than us.”

Malone cited fatigue that grew throughout the game.

“I do think we had some looks that for us weren’t even close tonight, which is not who we’ve been,” Malone said. “We’ve been a team that has shot the ball pretty well from the perimeter, and tonight you could tell some of our misses weren’t even on the mark, if you will. I’m sure fatigue has played a factor and we’ll be smart as to how we prepare for our next game against Phoenix.”

Jamal Murray led the Nuggets with 31 points and eight rebounds. Jokic had 19 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. Gary Harris had 17 points and five steals. Will Barton finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists and Trey Lyles added 16 points and eight rebounds.

The Nuggets finished December with a 6-7 record, but have a 19-17 record overall.

“I’d say overall (the year) was more positive than negative,” Malone said. “By no means are we satisfied with being 19-17, but when you take everything into account – the injury to Paul Millsap, the six or seven games that Nikola Jokic missed, the fact that we’ve had the schedule we’ve had…I think overall we’re headed in the right direction.”

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Cold-Shooting Second Half Sinks Nuggets in Loss to Sixers

The Nuggets return to action tonight at the Pepsi Center against one of the more interesting teams in the league – the young, but talented Philadelphia 76ers. Philly will not have burgeoning star center Joel Embiid, who has been ruled out as part of a series of prescheduled rest days.

But they still have a host of players the Nuggets must slow down in order to get a victory. The Nuggets are looking for their 13th victory at home, something that last season they did not get until Feb. 3 last season. So they could be more than a month ahead of last season in home victories, if they get this one tonight.

What are the keys? Start with these things…

Contain Ben Simmons: Simmons, the leader in the clubhouse for NBA Rookie of the Year, is a 6-10, 230-pound….point guard. That’s right. And he’s difficult to stop from getting to the rim once he gets a head of steam going. Yet, he does not shoot the ball very well and sometimes is apprehensive about putting up a shot. So the goal here for the Nuggets is to wall off the lane as best as they can and force him put up jump shots as his attempts.

Force the issue to the rim: The Sixers are a decent team at defending shots at the rim, but they do not do a good job of defending without fouling. So, being persistent about paint touches – whether they are drives or post-ups – could net the Nuggets a lot of trips to the free throw line.

Philadelphia is a good rebounding team, but is playing without its best rebounder – Joel Embiid. The Nuggets are one of the best rebounding teams in the NBA, particularly on the offensive glass. Win the battle of the boards, and the extra possessions will help, especially if the Nuggets are having an off shooting night.

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Game Preview: What to Watch for In the Nuggets Game Against Philadelphia

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