Nuggets main group outplays the champs in preseason debut

The Denver Nuggets lost to the Boston Celtics 107-103 to tip off the 2024 NBA Preseason in Abu Dhabi but the game mostly featured bench players. When the team’s top dogs went at each other in the first half, it was Michael Malone’s unit outplaying Joe Mazzulla’s group—perhaps a positive sign.

For the Celtics, this was their first game since winning a title this summer, but many players on both of these teams have been playing a lot of basketball recently as players from each side participated in the Olympics. The Celtics may not have all that many questions coming into this season with minimal offseason moves after their ring but that’s not the case for the champs of two years ago in Denver. What Friday really was is the start of Denver answering the questions of how the Nuggets will work this season.

The first play of Russell Westbrook’s time in Denver told us something: Jokic found him for a three. As did Vlatko Cancar’s return to NBA action after missing a year with a knee injury. It was also the Nuggets debut for Dario Saric, who will be a valued big for the Nuggets coming off the bench.

Jamal Murray scored just three points in 15 minutes of action, only taking four shots. Michael Porter Jr. scored 12 points on eight shots while Jokic had a team-high 14 points and eight rebounds in 17 minutes on the hardwood.

The Celtics were led by role player Peyton Pritchard, who scored 21 points—14 of which came in the first half. Stars Jayson Tatum, Jalen Brown and Derrick White only played the first half as well, combining for an inefficient 29 points.

The Nuggets led 63-56 at halftime when all the starters last saw action.

The Nuggets ended up struggling in the second half but mounted a comeback in the game’s final moments. Oddly enough it was thwarted after the scoreboard showed the Nuggets took the lead on a late steal and bucket. But with just 10 seconds left the score was adjusted and Denver was still down.

The one big notable thing for the game as a whole is the Nuggets lack of three-point shooting last year—attempting the third-fewest in the NBA. In the preseason opener, Denver was 12-of-32 from deep while Boston was 20-of-61. Though the Nuggets shot a better percentage, they still need to work on getting more shots up from behind the arc.

This weekend is interesting from a meta-perspective for the NBA because the league is shifting some of its international interests away from the Far East and more toward the Middle East. This began last year when the NBA announced a huge deal with Emirates, who will present the NBA Cup in the coming months, and they flew the Nuggets to the UAE. A day after the airline deal was announced the preseason game between the last two champs was shared. For the Nuggets, it says a lot about their profile that they would be invited to such an important moment for the league. And who knows, maybe there will be a few more overseas games in the future because the Nuggets’ biggest star is an international phenom.

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