As the turnovers mounted, the groans grew louder.
The Nuggets treated the basketball without care en route to a 99-87 loss to Cleveland for their first defeat of the season. Their 22 turnovers led directly to 32 Cavaliers points, and the Nuggets, now 2-1, could never recover.
“You’re playing a very dangerous game, and at some point it’s going to bite you in the butt and it did tonight,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. ” … It’s just getting out of hand.”
Redemption could come Tuesday when the Nuggets travel to Utah for their first back-to-back of the season. Outside of Nikola Jokic’s 24-point, 19-rebound effort, there was little that was redeeming Monday night. Even Jokic turned it over six times.
“Maybe this is reality,” Jokic said. “Hopefully it’s not reality to have (22) turnovers.”
Aaron Gordon added 12 points and nine assists, but his frontcourt counterpart, Michael Porter Jr., continued to struggle. Porter managed just 11 points on 4-of-14 shooting. Through three games, the 11 points were in line with his season averages.
There were numerous culprits in the defeat, with all five Nuggets starters registering at least two turnovers apiece. Off the bench, JaMychal Green added two more. It was a sloppy, uninspiring showing against an upstart team with plenty of promise.
Not even the excitement from Bones Hyland’s NBA debut could solve the Nuggets’ woes. His seven-minute stint in the first half yielded five points on 2-of-3 shooting, a steal and a rebound. He added another bucket in garbage time with the game already decided.
An ugly, lethargic contest turned into a riveting one midway through the third quarter. With the Cavs up 11, their biggest lead to that point, the Nuggets finally found a spark. First Porter drained a 3-pointer, then Gordon asserted himself. His 3-pointer cut the deficit to 64-59, before his assist to Will Barton on a transition layup made it a one-possession game. Gordon injected more life with an alley-oop finish, but Facu Campazzo, the smallest man on the court, offered a jolt like no one else could.
His forehead-to-forehead faceoff with Cavs guard Ricky Rubio earned double technical fouls, but it ignited the crowd. The Nuggets, thanks to another seven points from Jokic, entered the fourth down 75-70.
Despite their 2-0 start, Malone had emphasized cutting down their turnovers and cleaning up unforced errors. Entering Monday night, the Nuggets, at 20 turnovers per game, were among the worst in the league.
“I think the ones that were probably most unsettling last game were, we had gotten defensive stops, played really good defense, then maybe tried to force a play that wasn’t there,” Malone said. “It’s coming from a good place… But we have to be a lot smarter and more judicious in our decision-making. I’d rather instead of trying to make a thread-the-needle, home-run play, let’s just keep possession and come down and get a shot off, worst-case scenario.”
But there was nothing smooth about Monday’s first half against the Cavs. The Nuggets trailed 50-46 at the break, with eight turnovers and little offensive cohesion. There were good looks among Denver’s 21 3-point attempts, but only four of them dropped. And the nine first-half assists were uncharacteristically low for a team that prides itself on making the extra pass.
Cleveland big men Jarrett Allen and Kevin Love combined for 25 points. Ironically, it was the Cavs’ guards Malone was most concerned about.
“Those guys are ultra, ultra quick,” he said before the game. “They have kicked our (butts) in the past, lived in the paint, wreaked havoc on our defense, in transition, in the half-court. If we’re unable to contain those guys in the open court and in half-court, it doesn’t matter who else is out there.
Outside of Jokic, who logged a first-half double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds, no other Nugget scored more than five points. It was indicative of another lackluster showing from Denver’s supporting cast.
"behind" - Google News
October 26, 2021 at 10:30AM
https://ift.tt/3mlEOGl
Nuggets fall to Cavaliers behind ugly 22-turnover night - The Denver Post
"behind" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2YqUhZP
https://ift.tt/2yko4c8
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Nuggets fall to Cavaliers behind ugly 22-turnover night - The Denver Post"
Post a Comment