The Denver Nuggets got a whole bunch of good news on Sunday with the returns of Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun from their injuries, which kept them each out for over a month. The good news ended there, as the visitors were run off the floor in Brooklyn for a 127-115 loss to the Nets.
It was Nuggets legend Michael Porter Jr.’s first game against Denver, tallying a game-high 27 points on 17 shots with a game-high 11 rebounds and he was a contest-best plus-22 on the afternoon. He was traded from Denver this offseason in a deal that sent Cameron Johnson to the Nuggets. The current Nuggets small forward did not play against the team’s old small forward. Johnson is out for a month or more with a bone bruise in his knee.
Porter, who is making a bid for his first All-Star Game, came into Sunday averaging 26 points, eight rebounds and three assists. He’s one of three players scoring that much while snagging that many rebounds (Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic). Porter was an all-time Nuggets player. He finished his Nuggets career second in 3-pointers made (passed by Jokic for second this year), second in playoff rebounds, third in playoff blocks, third in playoff minutes played, fifth in playoff steals and sixth in playoff points.
The bigger Nuggets story was the return of their other championship-winning players to the lineup. Gordon came back and was awesome in just 20 minutes, one of the few impressive Denver players on the day. He scored 20 points and added six rebounds. Braun wasn’t as strong, scoring just three points in 24 minutes a game-worst minus-23.
Gordon was joined in scoring by Peyton Watson and Tim Hardaway Jr., who each added 20 points. But six Nuggets failed to get double-digits. Leaving a ton on Jamal Murray’s plate. He also scored 27 points and even added a career-high 16 assists, but it just wasn’t enough.
“They were the aggressors from the start. Our effort was lackluster and embarrassing. We picked it up, but the game was out of control,” David Adelman said. “We came out with an unprofessional approach and put ourselves against it. We were not ready to play, and things like this happen. Very disappointing performance from our guys… first time all year I’ve felt like that. A disconnected group to start, and we put ourselves in a tough situation.
Gordon and Braun were on a minutes restriction, meaning they’re unlikely to play in back-to-backs, which the Nuggets have one with a game on Monday night. Adelman mentioned he also has to be very careful with Murray after playing him 40 minutes on Sunday.
Nuggets top all-time assists leaders
1. Nikola Jokic*: 5,734
2. Alex English: 3,679
3. Fat Lever: 3,566
4. Andre Miller: 2,978
5. Jamal Murray*: 2,754
6. Ty Lawson: 2,745
What’s next for the Nuggets?
The Nuggets have just two games left on their season-long seven-game road trip. They’ll travel to Philadelphia for a game on Monday and wrap up the travel on Wednesday in Boston. Denver is 1-4 on this stint. They finally come on Friday to host the Hawks.
