Jamal Murray slips away at half-time, Nuggets defense starkly absent

Mike Malone is probably going to have a bad night. Already annoyed after the first defeat against the Thunder, the Nuggets coach this time saw his team being largely dominated (131-113) by the Bulls.

Nikola Jokic was not there, however, the Serb having remained in Denver, and Jamal Murray only played the first half. Something to worry about, as he returns from a ruptured cruciate ligament in his knee, but the Denver leader reassured everyone after the meeting, explaining that he had just felt a cramp.

For the rest, Chicago has mainly benefited from the defensive permissiveness of Denver, with in particular 40 points scored in the racket in the first half, out of 50 in total, and 23 points scored on counter-attack.

Two stats that show the defensive problems that Mike Malone will have to solve, by finding a balance.

He may have appreciated the burst of Bones Hyland, author of 24 points in 22 minutes, while the offensive impact of Michael Porter Jr (20 points) is on his side tarnished by his very many defensive oversights.