The Denver Nuggets played against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2021 preseason and won 113-107 in overtime. Marcus Howard led with 31 points and 9 three-pointers. Will Button also performed well in limited playing time, scoring 14 points and 2 three-pointers. Neither team has a normal starting lineup, which gives them a unique lineup, some of which you may never see again.
The first quarter
The Thunder won the opener and rookie Cui Man made a 3-pointer to start the game. The Nuggets didn't make a shot at the beginning, and Will Button took two and a half minutes to make a three-pointer. The Nuggets didn't have a good perimeter defense at the beginning of the game because the Thunder's first four goals were all three-pointers.
Bol's first game was very interesting. He dunked, then blocked shots, then fouled back to back and was sent off. Will Button scored 10 points in the first quarter, including two three-pointers and some difficult points. We saw Tariq Black and Devin Reid for the first time. This section ended with a 26-30 lead for the Thunder. Both teams made good three-pointers. The Nuggets scored 6 goals and the Thunder scored 7 goals.
Second quarter
Bol made a three-pointer in the second quarter, which was his second quarter game. Davin Reid is very good on both ends of the offense and defense. He defends very fast, has a lot of fouls, and makes a lot of free throws. So far, one of the most promising things in this game is Zike Nanaji. His defense is very good, which is not reflected in the data sheet. He also blocked Terry Man very well. . Ennaji also had a great ups and downs on the rebounds in the second quarter. Another highlight on the bench is that Vlatko Chanchar looks like a three-point shooter who has improved a lot.Especially the three-pointer he shot 2-2 in the corner. The Nuggets played well in the second quarter, leading 56-50 in the first half.
the third quarter
Bones looks very good at offense, his organizational skills are also very solid, he can find an open shooter in the corner. The Nuggets didn't shoot well in the third quarter, and it was difficult to score at the beginning. Josh Gidi made it difficult for the Nuggets' defense to control him, and he opened up to the inside on many occasions. Faku Campazzo continued to perform poorly, missed a few shots and the ball turned around. When Faku came on the court, the Nuggets made a small climax and ended the quarter with a score of 83-77.
Fourth quarter
The Nuggets had a good start in the fourth quarter, closing the gap by one point under the leadership of Marcus Howard. One of the Nuggets' main problems is defensive conversion: The Nuggets lost 13 fast breaks in this game and have been behind. Bol also did not show special devotion in the game, rarely grabbed rebounds, and sometimes slack on defense. Ennaji and Vlatko Chanchar played excellent defense in the following games and communicated well with other defenders to help the Nuggets return to the game. middle. Marcus Howard rushed to hit a key three-pointer and tied the score to 102 with 3.7 seconds left in the game, dragging the game into overtime.
Overtime
The Thunder scored first in overtime, and Marcus Howard also made two three-pointers. The Thunder made a 3-pointer with 47 seconds left in the game, reducing the score to 1 point. Marcus Howard scored an incredible 3-pointer with less than 30 seconds left to tie the score to 4 points. Marcus scored all 9 points for the Nuggets in overtime (minus Bones’ free throws at the end of overtime).
Three key elements
Marcus Howard is great.
The Nuggets can't win this game without Marcus Howard. His 31 points and 9 three-pointers are exactly what they need. Marcus showed off a variety of different techniques tonight, including improved passing ability. Although he only had one assist throughout the night, he passed the ball well. Marcus's shooting from the three-point line is also very good, once again proving that he has the ability to complete shots at critical moments. He even grabbed 5 rebounds, which is impressive for a player of Marcus's size.
The Nuggets’ bench is deep
The Nuggets’ bench has players from other teams rotating, such as Bones Hyland, Zike Nagy, Varatko Kancal, Bor. Both Bor and Marcus Howard can contribute a lot to any team. These players are not currently starting level players, but they all deserve playing time. Every player has at least one good preseason game and has shown significant improvement in the game. In the end, no player on the Nuggets would make me angry. Even if they have playing time,
will not be good defensively.
The Nuggets have been struggling defensively for several seasons, and this season will be no different. Our perimeter defense was terrible, and we were battered by three-pointers throughout the game. Davin Reid is one of the only good defenders tonight, and he probably won't be here for the rest of the season. Zik Najib also showed his brilliance as a good defender in this game, but he did not perform well in other games in the preseason, so who can say for sure.
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