Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray lead Nuggets to franchise-record 10th consecutive road win
The Nuggets have won consecutive road games for the first time in franchise history after earning a - domination at the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday Here are three takeaways from the win Nuggets leaders at their best Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray continued to carry their organization on the road like star players are supposed to do Murray started fast scoring of his team-leading points in the first quarter On a night his -pointer wasn t falling like it was in the last two wins he got to the rim and exposed space in the midrange He also didn t force bad decisions throughout the encounter as Charlotte s focus shifted to him tallying six assists and no turnovers on a -for- shooting night Jokic went for points nine rebounds and assists passing Michael Jordan and tying Chauncey Billups for st on the all-time list Next up for him to catch is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who s assists ahead with The Nuggets center has been playing with a trifecta of fresh red scratches across his upper right arm this week as if a grizzly bear got ahold of him The culprit Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard Jokic says But the plot twist is that I fouled him The -year-old also denied the notion that it s one of his gnarliest scratches of his career despite how it looks I ve had a couple of good ones he explained Opponents are launching s Throughout the league increased -point volume has been a major talking point in newest years It s no longer out of the ordinary to see a gang attempt in a match But the Nuggets are allowing attempts per contest eighth-most in the league this season With a defense that often shrinks to protect the interior they ve been floating around the top- in fewest paint points allowed per tournament But the ball often gets funneled to the perimeter as was the development in Charlotte The Hornets went of from deep becoming Denver s fifth opponent in the last seven games to attempt or more -pointers Those shots enabled them to keep up with Denver s high-powered offense early in the match but eventually the well dried out like it did for the Hawks on Friday The Nuggets can be smart about who they leave open and close out with high effort of unit but even that can be risky in a league where there s a premium on -point shooting They re at the moment giving up wide open -point tries per meeting according to league records which is the ninth-most Fortunately for them opponents are a pedestrian on those looks the second-lowest clip against any squad on wide-open s Only the Warriors are luckier Related Articles Nuggets rally from down points to beat Hawks extend road winning streak Nuggets Journal For first time in Nikola Jokic s prime Denver doesn t look convincing in clutch Nikola Jokic on mission to draw -shot continuation foul I m in a shooting motion Nuggets Nikola Jokic named NBA Western Conference Participant of the Month Nuggets Nikola Jokic in unfamiliar territory with -game home losing streak Ultimately the Nuggets will never turn down a competition with fewer than points allowed Charlotte s were the fewest a crew has scored against Denver since Indiana on Nov Best start in franchise history The Nuggets improved to - with the perfect three-game road trip their winningest first games of a season ever They re on a -win pace which remains on track to break the franchise record of They re about to enter an awkward portion of the NBA calendar that will allow them to rest before a road-heavy January Eliminated from the NBA Cup Denver will get three days off before facing Sacramento in a replacement championship another three days off before hosting Houston then two more days off before the normal schedule resumes Want more Nuggets news Sign up for the Nuggets Insider to get all our NBA analysis
