The Denver Nuggets have been your classic good offense, not-so-good defense team this season. Their 118.3 offensive rating ranks fourth in the league. Denver is nowhere near the top in defensive rating though, ranking 21st at 114.2. Friday’s game was a microcosm of their stellar offense and subpar defense. The Nuggets had a historic shooting night when it came to their shooting accuracy. They still almost lost to a team well below .500 and missing many players.
Nuggets Put Together Historic Shooting Effort On Friday
Nuggets Historic Shooting Night Never Seen Before
It was a tight, high-scoring game throughout on Friday, but the Nuggets were able to squeeze by with a 137-134 win over a undermanned Philadelphia 76ers team. The victory ended a mini three-game losing streak for Denver. They are 29-19 on the season, good for the fourth-best record in the Western Conference.
Giving up 134 points to a Philadelphia team minus Joel Embiid and Paul George (as well as Jared McCain, Caleb Martin, Andre Drummond, and KJ Martin) showcases just how much of a turnstile Denver was on the defensive end. The offensive end brought about a performance never before seen in NBA history though.
In the win, the Nuggets shot 54-92 from the field, 12-23 from beyond the arc, and 17-18 from the free-throw line. That gave them incredible shooting splits of 65.9/52.2/94.4 for the night. In reaching those shooting numbers, they became the first team ever to shoot at least 65% from the field, 50% from three-point range, and 90% from the charity stripe.
Denver saw eight players take part in Friday’s game. Remarkably, every single one of them connected on more than half their shots. Seven of the eight made at least 60% with only Jamal Murray falling short (12-22, 54.5%). The only missed free throw came courtesy of three-time MVP Nikola Jokic who went 4-5 from the foul line.
Have Best Field Goal Percentage On Season
While there are obvious defensive warts from the Nuggets, their shooting accuracy has been amongst the best all season. In their 48 outings, they have shot 50.6% which leads the NBA. Their 38.3% three-point accuracy is fourth in the league (although their 77.1% free-throw shooting places them just 23rd). The reason they are fourth and not first in offensive rating is because Denver’s 30.8 three-point attempts per game are dead-last in the NBA. Even in Friday’s win, they attempted just 23, well short of their seasonal average.
The 76ers on Friday shot 55.6% from the field, 52.5% from three-point territory, and 81.3% from the foul line. That is why they hung in a game where Denver was able to shoot the lights out. The Nuggets have been slightly worse than middle of the pack in both field goal defense (46.7%, 17th-best) and three-point defense (36.0%, 17th-best).
Their Nuggets hope they can continue their shooting prowess (and perhaps play better defense) on Saturday when they go on the road to take on the Charlotte Hornets. Charlotte is another undermanned team who will be missing LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller. Russell Westbrook left Friday’s game with left hamstring tightness, and it is unclear if he will available against the Hornets.
Photo credit: © Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
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