Thunder at Nuggets Recap

The Nuggets were not able to squeak out the win, but they continued to play tough the entire game and the teams seems to be getting better with every game. This was one of the games that the recent teams and even this team earlier this season, would have been blown out in. Playing against a far superior team would have been an automatic loss and likely a blow-out a year ago. Now, they at least believe that they can win these types of games.

As is protocol, Durant and Westbrook combined for 57 points 17 assists and 16 rebounds. There was nothing that team could do all night. Gallo's length bothers Durant at times, but he is just too good of scorer to expect him to be held down for the entire game.

Mike Malone said the Josef Nurkic was on a 15 minute limit restriction, but apparently that meant zero because he did not see the floor. Without their only rim protector, Enes Kanter was able to do what he does best, get buckets. He racked up 14 points in the first half alone as he abused just bout any defender the Nuggets threw at him.

Gallo absolutely went off in the first half (20 points in the first, 27 overall), but he did not get much help from the rest of the team, which was a major reason the team was not able to hold onto the lead in the first half. Their disappointing second quarter was a major reason why they were not able to win this game. If Gallo had another player to take over the scoring load when the Thunder began to key on him, They would have taken a 5+ point lead into the half. Gallo began to cool down in the second half, which was unfortunate and was another reason the team fell behind late in the third and into the fourth.

Mudiay really improved his play in the second half. He finished nicely at the rim at one drive early in the third quarter after missing several layups in the first half. A lot of his success in the second half came from making better decisions when passing the ball. Hopefully he continues to improve in that area over the next couple of games. He has been getting better at jumping with purpose, which is where a good chunk of his turnovers stem from. With Jameer Nelson out, he will be seeing a lot more playing time so he has plenty of time to prove to the coaching staff that the lessons he learned in the first half of the season stuck.

Kenneth Faried played well today. He finished with 17 points and 15 rebounds, but his lack of ability on defense was a major reason why the team lost today. He continues to play well this season, but I think the Nuggets need to look into trades for him as the deadline nears. Faried has nice boxscore stats and in the right system he can be a very effective player, but the Nuggets need to look into finding power forward who can play defense.

Once the team lost the lead in the second quarter, they were not able to regain it as Durant and Westbrook were just too good offensively. Its good to see the team in competitive games against good teams. This type of experience will benefit the young guys for years to come. It is painfully obvious that they do not have any rim defenders when Nurkic is out. Enes Kanter finished with 23 points in as many minutes. There was not a defender on the Nuggets who could even come close to stopping him. They either need to go after another big man who can defend or hope that either Lauvergne or Nikola Jokic turn into serviceable defenders.