Nuggets sleepwalk through first half, but rally late for a comeback win

The short-handed Orlando Magic limped into Denver on Sunday, one night after being blown out by 46 points in Utah. At 17-32 and missing five players to injury, it was easy for the Nuggets to take this game lightly — and they did.

“If we think we can just show up because we’re playing a team that doesn’t have maybe a marquee name, we’re going to find ourselves in a ballgame,” head coach Michael Malone warned prior to the tip-off, and mere moments later, Malone was proven prophetic.

The Magic blitzed the Nuggets en route to a shocking, 65-47 halftime lead. Newcomer Aaron Gordon explained after the game how the Nuggets handled their self-inflicted adversity. “A lot of teams that get down by 18 in the first half, they would just let go of the rope, they would just give up,” he said.

Given an opportunity to pass the L.A. Lakers in the Western Conference playoff race, it’s a good thing they didn’t. The Nuggets roared back, scoring 38 in the third quarter to reduce the Magic lead to a single point before slamming the door on Orlando with a 34-point fourth quarter and finishing with a 119-109 win — and saving them from the potential I-told-you-so that may be been awaiting them from their coach.

Instead, they received praise, and a not-so-subtle reminder. “It was great to see the comeback, but I’d rather see 48 minutes,” Malone said.

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NEXT UP: Nuggets (31-18) vs. Pistons (14-35) | Tuesday, Apr. 6 at 7:00 p.m.

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TEAM NOTES

• The Nuggets’ balanced, unselfish offense shot 59.5 percent from the field in the second half, handing out 16 assists on 25 made baskets. Nikola Jokic had 12 of those assists on his way to a could-have-been triple double. Jokic scored 17 points, finished with 16 assists, and ended up only a single rebound away from another triple-double.

• Aaron Gordon’s best game as a Nugget — 24 points, seven rebounds and a pair of blocks that highlighted his usual, aggressive defense — earned kudos from head coach Michael Malone for his performance; both on Sunday, and as a Nugget. “You have to give Aaron Gordon a tremendous amount of credit because he has come here in a big trade for us, but he’s come here trying to fit in,” Malone explained. “I think he realizes, ‘I’m coming to a really good basketball team; they’ve got a top-two or three offense in the NBA. Let me come out here and just fit in with these guys; play off of them as I get comfortable.” After the game, Monte Morris said that Gordon told him that he had never had “easier baskets” in his life before joining the Nuggets.

• With Sunday’s win — and the Clippers’ 104-86 victory over the Lakers — the Nuggets passed the Lakers to move into fourth place in the Western Conference playoff chase. The Nuggets, winners of five straight, now sit only one game behind the Clippers for third.

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PLAYER NOTES

• Monte Morris returned to play after missing eleven games with an injured quad, and he immediately stabilized the second unit in his 18 minutes. Like most of the Nuggets, Morris was wobbly in the first half, but looked better as the game went on. He’s a massive upgrade from Facundo Campazzo.

• Nikola Jokic had 16 assists and missed a triple-double by only one rebound, but the double-digit assist total was his 81st such game of his career, meaning that at only 26, Jokic is already the record holder for the most double-digit assist games by a center — he broke the great Wilt Chamberlain’s record on Sunday. Out of the 10 highest single-game assist totals by a center in league history, Chamberlain has six… and Jokic has the other four.

• JaVale McGee finally entered a game since being acquired by the Nuggets; he had not set foot on the court in Denver’s previous three. In six minutes, McGee went 1-for-1 from the field to score three points and grabbed a pair of rebounds. Head coach Michael Malone has admitted that’s he’s still figuring out how to play all three of his big men off the bench — McGee, mainstay Paul Millsap and JaMychal Green.

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THE FINAL WORD

“Those are my brothers, man. But business is business.” — Aaron Gordon, on facing his former Magic teammates on Sunday.

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INJURY WATCH:

• Greg Whittington (knee) last played on Mar. 15 and is considered week-to-week.

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ROTATION (MINUTES)

Starters:
G Jamal Murray (37)
F-G Will Barton (35)
F Michael Porter Jr. (36)
F Aaron Gordon (35)
C Nikola Jokic (38)

Bench:
G Monte Morris (18)
F JaMychal Green (13)
G Facundo Campazzo (9)
G-F P.J. Dozier (9)
C JaVale McGee (6)
F Paul Millsap (6)
F Bol Bol (DNP-CD)
F Vlatko Cancar (DNP-CD)
G-F Gary Clark (DNP-CD)
F Zeke Nnaji (DNP-CD)

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Shawn Drotar is the host of “The Fan Late Night with Shawn Drotar;” weeknights from 10:00 p.m. to midnight — only on 104.3 The Fan. Follow him on Twitter at @sdrotar.

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