The Nuggets lost their last exhibition game, falling to the Magic 114-110 in their final set-up before the regular season begins against the Miami Heat.
Jamal Murray had a good game for the Nuggets, leading the team in scoring with 23 points on 12 shots, showing up in his first comeback game. Jokic finished with zero points, losing both his free throws and his only field goal attempt, a frustrating game as the team is ready to start playing big games.
The Magic led in scoring for forward Gary Clark, who had 17 points, including 4-for-8 in 3-point attempts. The Magic were 18 for 37 in their 3-point attempts, hitting jumpers every time the Nuggets tried to reduce the lead to below double digits.
The Nuggets did not play particularly well for constant periods of time, and were eliminated by a 19-0 Magic in the second quarter.
The Nuggets started with Jamal Murray, Will Barton, Jerami Grant, Paul Millsap and Nikola Jokic, the first time they were able to use that lineup in Orlando. They struggled with turnovers to start the game, showing some rust after having four months off. Barton was happy to be back on the court, getting plenty of shots early for the team, although he missed most of those shots. Jerami Grant had a good two-handed block on a James Ennis III shot, hitting the ball out of bounds on the baseline.
Michael Porter Jr. registered for the game at 5:00, earning some career with the rest of the starters minus Grant. The young rookie made an immediate impact, knocked down a jumper, then grabbed an offensive rebound and dipped it in with both hands. After a time of waiting, more of the bank’s rotation entered the game, with Mason Plumlee and Torrey Craig reviewing the game. Nugget show legend Bol Bol joined the team a minute later, completing the Unicorn Squad with MPJ for the first time. The Magic were able to run with Jonathan Isaac, extending the lead to 29-19 late in the first quarter.
The Magic made their first two shots of the fourth, then Porter Jr. fouled Isaac in a 3-point attempt, with the forward making his free kick to start. MPJ followed with an offensive rebound and a dunk, but Markelle Fultz pulled a triple to stretch the run to 22-2. Malone put the headlines back on to help calm the attack, and the team began taking better shots with better defense. Millsap had a really strong baseline momentum for a cube, then followed it up with a sharp cut and ended on the edge.
Jerami Grant was able to pull off three consecutive layups for the Nuggets, reducing the Magic lead to 12 points. After an MPJ block, Murray hit a triple to reduce the lead to just seven points. They had recovered to seven points with one minute remaining, but things quickly fell apart to close the half. MPJ turned the ball around as he traveled, and Orlando connected 3 consecutive points to help stretch the lead to double digits. MPJ aimed a shot from Vucevic with 0.8 seconds remaining, a call that the referees confirmed after a review, and Denver lost 60-49 at halftime. Murray finished the half with 17 points, and so far it has looked very good. Jokic made and attempted zero shots, which is frustrating, as this is supposed to be a fit for games that matter.
Murray came out of halftime still hot, making two mid-range jumps in a row on nice plays where he was able to create separation from his defender and hit nothing but the net in his punches. Murray caught the defense sleeping on Torrey Craig, finding the wing in the left corner for a clean triple. The Nuggets got sloppy with the ball, with Grant shooting a bad shot at Murray and Jokic making a loose pass from a double team to lead to a couple of really easy baskets for the Magic, taking away the drive the team had to start the fourth .
After an intelligent wait time by Malone, the Nuggets forced a rotation and were able to get easy points in the transition. The headlines started to look a bit fatigued, and their defense dwindled, with DJ Augustin getting hot and hitting a pair of 3 points. Stocks made their way in the game, and Mason Plumlee was immediately stripped by Evan Fournier. Craig had an emphatic block on a Fournier unit, but Porter Jr. made a lazy pass and Gary Clark rammed him. Clark increased his confidence and was also able to triple, as the Magic continued to do enough to keep them ahead in double digits despite the Nuggets’ best efforts. MPJ was able to make a couple more shots to help reduce the lead to five, but Terrence Ross hit a triple to help cool the Nuggets’ offense.
The Nuggets got a triple from Torrey Craig early in the quarter, but the Magic really were able to dump it with a ton of baskets made to run 13-4 in the first two minutes. Bol Bol made a good play on the wing, circled Mo Bamba and casually fired a free kick. He followed his mid-range jumper with a nice triple, and the Nuggets forced a rotation that led to a Plumlee 180.° Slam dunk that cut the lead to eight Bol hit another triple, pulling out a transfer from Tyler Cook.
Plumlee stole the ball on the perimeter, dropped to the ground to keep it within bounds, and Keita Bates-Diop was able to end up in traffic. Torrey Craig was able to strip Melvin Frazier Jr., and although her layup attempt was missed, Plumlee followed with a dunk. The Nuggets went with another type of Monstar lineup to close the game, with Craig on point, Bates-Diop on double guard, Noah Vonleh on small forward, Tyler Cook on power forward and Bol Bol in center. The offense was ugly, and although they reduced the lead to just four points, they were unable to get baskets in the last minute to steal a victory.
