Washington Wizards Three Takeaways: Wizards deny the Denver Nuggets, 109-104
For the first stop of their West Coast swing, the Washington Wizards traveled to Denver. Led by a strong second half, the Wizards beat the Nuggets, 109-104.
On Monday, the Washington Wizards started their West Coast swing taking on the Denver Nuggets. The Wizards came into the game at the top of the leaderboard in the Eastern Conference, with a 2-0 record. Their perfect record remains intact as they beat Denver, 109-104.
Washington starts off their season 3-0.
Hello, Millsap our old friend. A familiar face on the floor was the former Hawk Paul Millsap. The unrestricted free agent was acquired by Denver during the offseason.
Although Markieff Morris is sidelined, Millsap still had plenty to cry about. Especially after being called for a blocking foul against John Wall.
With Jason Smith recovering from a shoulder sprain, Kelly Oubre, Jr. started at the three, while Otto Porter, Jr. moved over to the four.
Denver has a young backcourt, with Jamal Murray at point, and Gary Harris at the two. However, it was usually their versatile center Nikola Jokic who pushed the ball up the floor for Denver. During the first quarter, he knocked down two 3-pointers at the top of the key.
Here are the games three takeaways.
Bench was good offensively
The second-unit received quality minutes. They made their shots. After Tim Frazier kicked it out to Tomas Satoransky, he was able to knock down a three. While Frazier hit a deep three at the buzzer to end the first quarter, knotting the game 29-29.
However, on the defensive end, they opened up the lanes allowing Denver uncontested layups.
Frazier ended the game with 10 points, 3 assists and 2 rebounds. While Satoransky had 5 points, including a three.
Both Porter and Gortat put in solid performances
While the Wizards backcourt struggled to start the game, both Porter and Gortat had solid performances throughout.
Porter started and finished strong, knocking down three shots beyond the arc. With 17 points, he shot 6-for-13 from the field, and added 10 rebounds to cap off his double-double. His defensive intensity was off the charts, hustling on both ends of the floor. He played bang-bang basketball down low against one of the best power forwards in the league – Millsap.
Porter appears to be heading towards another breakout season.
Although, Gortat was unable to defend Jokic outside the paint, he held his own on the inside. He had 13 points, and 5 rebounds. The Polish Hammer had a huge steal in the last 2 minutes of the game, right before he was fouled out.
Wizards improved their defense
The Wizards started off the game weak on the defensive end. Jokic led all scorers going into the half, with 17 points in 16 minutes. Because of the big man’s versatility, he played positionless basketball. Sometimes running point, where he knocked down those two 3-point shots to open the game.
The Nuggets were getting easy transition points during the first half. But the Wizards recalibrated, and came into the second-half with a more defensive mindset.
Oubre once again showed that he’s ready for primetime in the starting lineup, with 14 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals.
With 32 seconds left in the game, as the teams were walking back to the bench for a timeout, Jokic bumped Coach Scott Brooks. Jokic was hit with a technical. Brooks, you’re the real MVP.
Jokic led all scorers with 29 points and 9 rebounds. Millsap had 17 points.
Wall, who was aggressive driving towards the basket, had 19 points and a mile-high 12 assists. While Beal closed out the game with 20 points, 5 assists, and was perfect from the free throw line (3-3).
The Wizards continue their road trip against the Lakers on Wednesday.