Basketball is a game of runs.
We’ve all heard the phrase, and that was on full display in Thursday’s 115-107 loss for the Denver Nuggets to the Charlotte Hornets. Despite building a 19-point lead in the first half, the Mile High squad fell for a second night in a row as Denver’s offense struggled in the second half, which opened the door for Charlotte to make the comeback.
Three early turnovers hurt Denver as the Hornets jumped out to a 10-4 lead through the opening four minutes. Offensive struggles continued for the Mile High squad throughout the quarter as Charlotte extended the lead to 11 near the midway point of the frame. Nine first-quarter points from Austin Rivers sparked a 17-5 run for the Nuggets, who only found themselves down by one at the end of the quarter, 27-26.
Denver’s second unit continued to have success to begin the second quarter, which helped the Nuggets remain competitive despite matching up against a Hornets lineup that featured three starters. Charlotte held on to a slim one-point lead with just under seven minutes remaining in the half, but Denver gained control of the game with a 19-4 run as the starters checked back in. The Nuggets also used hot 3-point shooting to get back into Thursday’s contest and finished with 11 threes in the first half as they took a 65-52 advantage into the break.
Denver extended its lead to 17 in the opening minutes of the third quarter as Charlotte’s offense struggled to keep up. Will Barton found a rhythm as Jokić continued to dominate inside the paint as the Nuggets pushed their advantage up to 90-71 late in the quarter. Jokić had secured a 20+ point, 20+ rebound game through three quarters as Denver took a 94-77 lead into the final frame.
Charlotte’s comeback attempt got a spark to open the fourth quarter, as the Hornets got within nine points at the nine-minute mark of the frame. The run continued for Charlotte and the two teams ended up being tied at 99 with five minutes to go. A 3-pointer from PJ Washington gave the Hornets a 104-101 lead with 3:07 remaining, which tentatively completed the 19-point comeback. As the Nuggets battled back to tie it at 105, Washington hit another three to give the Hornets a 108-105 lead with just over one minute remaining. A 3-pointer from Ish Smith all but sealed the deal with 39 seconds remaining as Charlotte extended its lead to 113-107.
Here are three takeaways from Thursday’s loss.
Second-half struggles sunk Denver’s offense
Following a 65-point first half, the Nuggets struggled to maintain their flow on the offensive end of the floor, with cold 3-point shooting and turnovers being the main culprits.
After shooting 11-of-22 from deep in the first 24 minutes, Denver shot 3-of-17 from downtown in the second half (including 16 in a row at one point) and ultimately finished with fewer made threes on the night than Charlotte.
What didn’t help the offense was 15 turnovers that led to 17 points for the Hornets’ fast-paced attack. In the end, the Nuggets only mustered 42 points in the second half, including 13 in the fourth quarter, which allowed Charlotte to take advantage down the stretch.
Second unit set the tone early
Denver’s second unit was what initially provided the spark for the Mile High squad to bounce back Thursday night at Ball Arena.
Led mainly by Facundo Campazzo, Austin Rivers, and JaMychal Green in the first half, Denver got 34 points off the bench, which helped fuel a double-digit lead at the break. Unfortunately, Charlotte’s bench responded in the second half and ultimately finished with a 57-42 advantage over Denver’s bench group.
The MVP dominated inside
It’s not very often you see a 20/20 game in the NBA, but the Ball Arena crowd was treated to the fifth such game of Nikola Jokić’s career Thursday night, one of the brighter spots in the game.
It took 34 shot attempts to get there (with many of those being tip-in attempts around the rim), but Jokić ultimately finished with 29 points, 21 rebounds, and five assists in his 35 minutes of action.
On a night in which Charlotte often resorted to zone defensive schemes and double-teaming, the Serbian big man wasn’t able to find his groove and lead the Nuggets to a victory.
Denver returns to action Sunday against the LA Clippers (7 p.m. MT).