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    • Despite everything, the Nuggets fail
    Utah

    Despite everything, the Nuggets fail

    Caradoc Wyn Posted on

    First quarter

    The game began with each team trading buckets. The Nuggets would get a little separated, then the Wolves would come back and get a little separated, and the Nuggets would close the gap. It stayed in this cycle for a while. Christian Braun and Michael Porter Jr. led the points standings in the first stint. Bruan had 7 points in the first 6 minutes and MPJ had 6. After 6 minutes the score was 18-16 in favor of the Nuggets, at which point the subs began.

    To say the Nuggets’ bench struggled in the first half would be an understatement. At the end of the first quarter the score was 29:33. The Timberwolves led on the back of Anthony Edwards, who took on Jamal Murray, holding him to just 2 points and scoring 9 points of his own. The regular players played well, but the bench had to step in and support them.

    Second quarter

    The second quarter started with the Nuggets simply collapsing. They didn’t play good defense and the bench lineups just didn’t work. They went down early 29-43. The deficit was at one point 16. The bench was just terrible. They scored a total of 1-14 in the first half, with Julian Strawther the only substitute to score. Russell Westbrook? 0-5. Peyton Watson? 0-4. Dario Saric? 0-3. None of them could buy a bucket for their lives. The defense didn’t look good, the offense looked worse, and the entire unit looked confused.

    It was a disaster for the Nuggets early on, and it took until the starters returned for their fortunes to change. The Nuggets’ starters managed to fight back from a 16th deficit and make it close again. This was mainly due to Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon. The two began to rain it down from beyond the arc, including a personal 9-0 run against the Wolves. AG’s trend also started tonight – he was cooking from three-point range. Christian Braun also had some nice contributions, including a penny to AG, which will be featured on his end-of-season highlight reel. The Nuggets went into halftime down 61-64.

    Third quarter

    The Nuggets stayed close in the third quarter, but in perhaps the most frustrating way possible. They were always within striking distance, but didn’t have the penetration to put them back in the lead. They always were right therebut the bank failed to deliver. The starters did what they could, but at some point they needed help from someone – it wasn’t coming, at least not yet.

    They would get within two points, but at the end it would be five, then they would make it a three-point game, only to turn it into an eight-point game. The starters had to play a lot, and at the end of the third it still ended up being a multi-possession game. Aaron Gordon was one of the main reasons they were there. He made three 3-pointers in the quarter.

    Fourth quarter

    The fourth quarter was the decisive moment. There was a feeling of momentum. They went on a 22-3 run and were up by 10 at one point. Aaron Gordon was cooking, Christian Braun had the dunk of the year and you could feel him shifting towards the Nuggets. Jamal Murray suffered a concussion in the third quarter so they had to play against Russell Westbrook, but he also played well. Dario Saric came on for Hunter Tyson and had some pretty good minutes. Thanks to Russ, the bench started to produce a little, and when the starters came back it was tighter than when they left.

    That’s rare for the Nuggets, and so many things went well for them. Their defense wasn’t good, but AG had five threes, CB played very well, Russ played great in the second half. However, it wasn’t meant to be. Jokic was too passive on the last possession. He missed a wide open floater and that led to Christian Braun trying to put the Nuggets up by 1 as the Wolves reclaimed the lead through Ant, who took a slight lead through MPJ. Despite the close game, the Nuggets stayed close. For me they played better than the rest of the season, so there are positives, but it still hurts.

    Music recommendation

    For those of you who haven’t read the preview for this game, I will recommend some songs based on the game. Previews, recaps, and sometimes in editorials I just add something that I think fits the mood. This one will be it The new year by Death Cab for Cutie. It’s a song I’ve heard when I want a change in my life and it just hasn’t come yet. That’s how it feels so far this season. You want the new season to bring more, you want to see a better team, but sometimes it doesn’t feel any different.

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    Caradoc Wyn
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