From +27 to -10, the matches follow one another but are not the same for Denver against Phoenix. Two days after crushing the Suns 117-90, the Nuggets suffered in the Arizona desert. A desert that their attack painfully crossed all evening or almost, for the last of the matches on the Christmas program.
At the Footprint Center, the Colorado franchise never collapsed, but also did not really give itself the opportunity to believe in victory. The Nuggets' plan seemed to work without a hitch in the first act, with an irresistible Nikola Jokic at 15 points and 6/7 shooting, tormenting Jusuf Nurkic quickly penalized with two fouls.
Then everything went off the rails, from the MVP suddenly coming out more successful (only ten points after the first quarter) to the lack of a reliable second offensive option to take over.
“ It felt like we were never able to get into a rhythm offensively for the majority of the game. » summed up coach Michael Malone at a press conference. “ It was a strange match. »
Lowest assist total of the season for Nikola Jokic and Denver
Nikola Jokic's lieutenants only showed up intermittently, and mainly struggled with creation. Jamal Murray had four lost balls, but saved the furniture with six assists. What Michael Porter Jr (five lost balls for two assists) or Russell Westbrook (four lost balls for two assists) were unable to do. And as Nikola Jokic was well controlled for the tied lowest total of his season with two caviars, it was the entire Nuggets attack that suffered with 20 assists, the lowest total of the season.
“ We give away too many points on loose balls, the main reason for this, and it's not just one player, but the whole team, these are really bad passes » did not like Mike Malone.
With so few offerings to score, it's complicated for any team to win. But it is perhaps a little more so for that of the Rockies, dependent on its hub Nikola Jokic and his animation (best team in the entire league with 30.9 assists on average) to score. The Nuggets' record when they have fewer than 29 collective assists this season is unequivocal: a victory for a sixth defeat on Wednesday.
Few passes + few counter-attacks = no easy points
Another usual area of predilection for the Nuggets, the transition game was never able to express itself on Wednesday in Phoenix. The Suns gave few gifts when the Denver attack was sluggish.
“ We have to be strong with the ball, we probably committed five loose balls where they simply took the ball out of our hands, which fueled their counter-attacking game. This is a key number for us, they outscored us 15-6 on points in transition, and we are the team that scores the most points in these situations. We usually score 20 points like that and tonight we never had the opportunity to do that. »
Without an easy basket opportunity, the visitors were never able to find the key to scoring more than 22 points in the second, third and fourth quarters. Jamal Murray was content with ten attempted shots (13 points), and Christian Braun had no impact (5 points at 2/7). Aaron Gordon suffered a relapse of his calf injury which caused him to miss ten games. Not ideal for finding solutions on Wednesday, nor for Denver's next few weeks, with a very busy schedule and the upcoming reception of league leader Cleveland on Friday.
