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Nuggets

Michael Malone says the Denver Nuggets realize they won't transform into NBA title contenders simply by getting Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. back on the court.
Denver's coach said Wednesday the Nuggets need to vastly improve on defense, whether that's through attitude adjustments or player acquisitions.
Thanks to an historic season by reigning MVP Nikola Jokic, the Nuggets won 48 games despite Murray missing the entire season while recovering from ACL reconstruction and Porter missing the final 73 games and the playoffs following back surgery.
The Nuggets lost to Golden State in five games in Round 1 of the NBA playoffs with their two max players looking on in street clothes from the bench.
Malone called this &ldquo;<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2022-nba-offseason-preview-whats-next-for-the-denver-nuggets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a huge offseason</a>&rdquo; for the Nuggets, who aim to surround Jokic with the proper supporting cast to capitalize on his prime years.
"Everybody wants to just say, &lsquo;Well, it&rsquo;s just Michael and Jamal coming back healthy.&rsquo; And that's just a starting block, but it doesn&rsquo;t end there,&rdquo; Malone said. &ldquo;We have a window and I think windows are only open so long. We have a 27-year-old phenom who will hopefully soon be named a back-to-back MVP.
"We have to capitalize while we have a special player in Nikola and do everything that we can as an organization &mdash; and I know we will &mdash; to put the best players around him to give ourselves the best chance to win the world championship.&rdquo;
There's the draft, trades and free agency, Malone said, &ldquo;but I always tell our players they have to come back better players. We as a coaching staff have to come back and prove we can find ways to help this team.&rdquo;
That starts with becoming a tougher team to score on.
&ldquo;Our defense against Golden State was not good enough,&rdquo; Malone said. "I think we had the 16th-ranked defense in the playoffs, which is dead last."
During the season, Malone noted, Denver allowed 17&frac12; points per game on turnovers, &ldquo;so we fuel teams' breaks, we give them easy baskets."
&ldquo;And then in the half-court, our inability to guard one-on-one, contain the ball, led to a lot of rim attacks and I think we were 30th in opponents' rim field-goal percentage. We were 29th in blocks per game,&rdquo; Malone said.
&ldquo;That's a bad combination if you struggle to guard the ball on the perimeter and you don't have Dikembe Mutombo blocking shots behind you.&rdquo;
Malone said &ldquo;to be a dangerous, deep playoff team you have to have an elite defense, and that's one of the areas we have to really focus on.&rdquo;
Malone added that &ldquo;the best perimeter defenders are tough dudes&rdquo; and he has two on his roster in forward Aaron Gordon and guard Austin Rivers, a pending free agent along with center DeMarcus Cousins, guards Bryn Forbes and Facu Campazzo and forwards Vlatko Cancar, Davon Reed and Markus Howard.
Malone said his expectations for Murray and Porter next season are &ldquo;just to take it slow and not expecting &lsquo;bubble&rsquo; Jamal Murray and not expecting &lsquo;peak&rsquo; Michael Porter right away."
&ldquo;It's really an important offseason for both those guys,&rdquo; Malone said. &ldquo;They weren't able to play this year and that was tough for a lot of people to understand. But they weren't ready, and that's all there was to it.&rdquo;
Malone said that at different times he felt both players would return to action last season, but the patience the organization displayed with them will continue next season.
&ldquo;I think tempered excitement,&rdquo; is how Malone describes his outlook next season with his stars regaining their health. "And as the season goes along they're going to get more and more comfortable. They're going to get their rhythm back, their confidence back and then they're going to get back to their old selves.
&ldquo;But that's not going to be the case come October, whenever the first game comes around. We have to have patience.&rdquo;

Michael Malone said the Nuggets need to vastly improve on defense, whether that's through attitude adjustments or player acquisitions.

Nuggets need more than healthy Murray, Porter to contend

Watching the 2021-22 Denver Nuggets, it&rsquo;s impossible not to imagine what this team could have achieved had it been at full strength.
After all, how many teams could lose two max-level players and still manage to win 48 games and secure the Western Conference&rsquo;s sixth seed?
During the Nuggets' first-round series against the Golden State Warriors, even Denver head coach Mike Malone would catch himself wondering how this season could have played out differently if the team had Jamal Murray (who missed the entire season while recovering from a torn ACL) and Michael Porter Jr. (who played just nine games after undergoing back surgery in December).
&ldquo;I couldn't sleep one night. At 3 o'clock in the morning, I was looking at Jamal's stats in the Bubble. Wow,&rdquo; Malone said. &ldquo;I knew he was good, but sometimes you forget how good he was (26.5 points, 6.6 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 3.3 threes on .505/.453/.897 shooting splits). That's the thing about Jamal: When the stakes are at their highest, he steps up. He's never afraid of the moment.
&ldquo;Michael Porter, what he did last year in 10 playoff games: 17 points, 6 rebounds and, more importantly, shooting a high clip from the three-point line (39.7%). Shooting makes up for so many things. Jamal and Michael can do that.&rdquo;
How good can the Nuggets be next season if everyone is healthy?
&ldquo;I think it's scary to think about that,&rdquo; Malone said. &ldquo;I go back to last season before Jamal's injury in this building (Chase Center); we felt we had a legitimate chance to win a championship last year. Unfortunately, it just wasn't in the cards for us. Jamal suffers the ACL. Earlier this season, Michael Porter Jr. suffers a back [injury]. You're playing without two max players that have both helped us advance out of the first round the last three years. When they're back and they're healthy, I think that's going to make us a deeper, more talented team. I'm excited about that, I really am. I think the future is very, very bright for the Denver Nuggets.&rdquo;
&ldquo;The potential is scary,&rdquo; DeMarcus Cousins added. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re down two superstars. We took one of the most dominant teams of this past decade and we battled every night with them. The potential is scary. Obviously, it looks good on paper, but we got to put everything together. We'll see what happens.&rdquo;
Even though they were missing two of their three leading scorers, Denver finished the season with the NBA&rsquo;s sixth-best offense (scoring 111.7 points per 100 possessions).
&ldquo;We know when we're fully healthy, we can be even more dangerous,&rdquo; Will Barton said.
&ldquo;We're going to call in the reinforcements,&rdquo; Aaron Gordon said with a smile.
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&ldquo;It should be fun,&rdquo; Monte Morris added. &ldquo;A lot of people don't even know how well they're looking individually. It's going to be just like we never left. It was big-time when we was doing it [before] &mdash; made some great 3-1 comebacks, some big wins. I'm looking forward to it.&rdquo;
Fortunately for the Nuggets, most of their core is under contract for the foreseeable future, including Nikola Jokic, Murray, Porter, Gordon, Barton, Morris, Bones Hyland and Zeke Nnaji. Coach Malone isn&rsquo;t going anywhere either, as Denver&rsquo;s front office just gave him a multi-year contract extension last month.
While Jokic is entering the final year of his current contract worth $33,616,770, he made it clear that he wants to stay in Denver long-term and plans to sign a supermax extension this offseason (which would <a href="https://hoopshype.com/lists/nuggets-offseason-preview-nikola-jokic-extension-free-agents-and-more/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pay him</a> $260 million over five years, including $59.1 million in 2027-28).
&ldquo;I would like it, of course, but it's not something that I'm deciding,&rdquo; Jokic said. &ldquo;If [an] offer is on the table, of course I'm going to accept it because I really like the organization, I really like the people who work here. I'm in [a] really good relationship with everybody from owner to equipment manager. I think we have something that we're building. It actually feels really good.&rdquo;
For Denver, this offseason will mostly be about getting healthy and making moves around the edges.
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The Nuggets do have several players who will hit unrestricted free agency: Cousins, Bryn Forbes, Facundo Campazzo, Austin Rivers and Vlatko Cancar.
JaMychal Green and Jeff Green could become unrestricted free agents as well, as they each have a player option ($8,200,000 for JaMychal and $4,500,000 for Jeff).
Markus Howard and Davon Reed will be restricted free agents, assuming Denver extends a $1,576,305 qualifying offer to each player.
The Nuggets have $158,679,553 in guaranteed salaries committed for next season, and they are already $9.7 million over the projected luxury tax, per <a href="https://hoopshype.com/lists/nuggets-offseason-preview-nikola-jokic-extension-free-agents-and-more/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HoopsHype's Yossi Gozlan</a>. Denver&rsquo;s ownership has historically avoided paying the luxury tax, but that will change next season as the team tries to make its first NBA Finals run in franchise history.
Cousins&rsquo; free agency will be interesting, as he became a key contributor after joining the Nuggets in February, averaging 8.9 points and 5.5 rebounds in 13.9 minutes per contest. In Game 5, he had 19 points, 4 rebounds and a steal in 15 minutes, while shooting 8=of-12 (66.7%) from the field and 2-of-3 (66.7%) from three-point range.
After the Nuggets were eliminated, the 31-year-old admitted that he isn't sure whether he&rsquo;ll be back in Denver.
&ldquo;I honestly don't know what the future holds,&rdquo; Cousins said. &ldquo;A lot in this short time has transpired. I'm still trying to get over the fact that G.P. (Gary Payton II) hit that big shot, right? I'm extremely grateful for this opportunity. I'm happy to be a part of this group. I'm happy with the opportunity that was given to me from Mike, [Nuggets president] Tim [Connelly], [Nuggets general manager Calvin] Booth. To answer that question, I can't right now. I don't know what's future holds.&rdquo;
With that said, Cousins proved that he still has a lot to offer a team, and he should receive significantly more interest during this year&rsquo;s free-agency period.
&ldquo;I belong here; I belong in this league,&rdquo; Cousins said. &ldquo;I was given the opportunity. I'm thankful for Mike Malone. I spoke with him before. A lot of doors closed for me. Mike looked out, gave me an opportunity. I just tried to take the best advantage of it as I could. That's what I did.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I gave him a big hug in the locker room, and I gave him a shout-out in front of his teammates,&rdquo; Malone said. &ldquo;He was a guy hanging out at home in Las Vegas after being released by Milwaukee. He goes out in an elimination game and puts up 19 points in 15 minutes. Nikola is in foul trouble, we need somebody to steady the ship; DeMarcus did that. The biggest thing is I'm just really, really happy for DeMarcus Cousins, and I'm so proud of him for staying with it. He had an impactful run with the Denver Nuggets. We'll figure out the offseason in the coming weeks as me, him and [Nuggets governor] Josh [Kroenke] sit down and talk.&rdquo;
Several fellow Nuggets players vouched for Cousins and stressed that they want him back.
&ldquo;Anytime you have a guy like that, you always want him back,&rdquo; Barton said. &ldquo;Like I say, he's still DeMarcus Cousins &mdash; a guy who, when he's healthy, is a very good player. Those are not my decisions; I'm not in management. Obviously, if I have a voice in the fight, I definitely would love to have him back. He was big for us on and off the court, [a] presence in the locker room. We'll see what happens.&rdquo;
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&ldquo;Signing Boogie, man... I love him to death,&rdquo; Morris said. &ldquo;A guy that would pick up 19 points in a do-or-die elimination game just shows how much heart he has, how much love he has for the game. I'm definitely proud of him... He's a great guy. He has a great family, great kids, an amazing wife. I look at things bigger than just ball. He's a guy that's been through a lot on and off the court, experience-wise. He can help anybody. It's a lot that he's seen. Having that around, I think, is big.&rdquo;
In addition to re-signing their own role players, the Nuggets will also have the taxpayer mid-level exception (worth $6,392,000) to attract talent. Last offseason, Patty Mills (Brooklyn Nets), Rudy Gay (Utah Jazz), George Hill (Milwaukee Bucks) and Justise Winslow (Memphis Grizzlies) are some examples of players who were signed using the taxpayer mid-level.
Also, the Nuggets have the No. 21 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, so they can either draft a prospect or trade the selection for more of a win-now piece. Considering their cap situation, it may make sense to keep the pick and select a rookie who can be a relatively cheap contributor.
In BasketballNews.com's latest <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Mock Draft</a>, Denver is projected to pick Baylor's Kendall Brown &mdash; a 6-foot-8 wing who's known for his athleticism, motor and defense.
Denver&rsquo;s front office hasn&rsquo;t been afraid to pull the trigger on trades in recent years &mdash; including the trade-deadline acquisition of Gordon last season. However, the Nuggets&rsquo; continuity is one of their biggest advantages, so don&rsquo;t expect many significant changes. Once Murray and Porter are back to 100%, they will basically count as Denver&rsquo;s big offseason acquisitions.
If Gordon can take the next step in his development, that would be huge for the Nuggets as well. Following the Game 5 loss, the 26-year-old told reporters that his focus this offseason will be &nbsp;&ldquo;working smarter&rdquo; and &ldquo;becoming more of a student of the game.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I'm playing with Jok, who is one of the smartest basketball players in the world, so I gotta raise my level of IQ to help him, to help everyone, to help the coaching staff,&rdquo; Gordon explained. &ldquo;I've relied on my talent for so long &mdash; just natural talent, not enough on the cerebral part of the game. So I think now is the time to switch.
&ldquo;[I&rsquo;ll be] studying film. Just study, study, study &mdash; everybody that's in the league, every game, every set, just leave no stone unturned. I feel like it will slow the game down even more for me and really allow my natural talent to excel. Obviously, I'm going to continue to work on the jumper and just rounding out my game. That's part of it. But the cerebral part, being a student of the game, that's my main focus for this offseason&hellip; That's the way that I'm going to help improve this team.&rdquo;
At the end of the day, the sky's the limit for the Nuggets. If Jokic continues playing at an MVP level, Murray and Porter can return to form and Gordon makes strides, another deep postseason run is certainly a realistic possibility.
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The Nuggets' 2021-22 NBA season came to an end on Wednesday. Now, Alex Kennedy previews what's next for Denver this offseason.

2022 NBA offseason preview: What's next for the Denver Nuggets?

Mavericks say guard Tim Hardaway Jr. suffered a fracture of the fifth metatarsal on his left foot.
Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1486195180273340416" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter) </a>
ANALYSIS: According to the Mavericks, Hardaway Jr. suffered a fracture of the fifth metatarsal on his left foot, becoming the third player in the NBA this season to do so (Vlatko Cancar and Zion Williamson). Hardaway Jr. figures to be out for the extended future, expect more details on a possible recovery timeline from the Mavs in the coming days.

Mavericks guard Tim Hardaway Jr. fractured his foot during Tuesday's game vs. the Warriros.

Tim Hardaway Jr. suffers fractured foot vs. Warriors

What if I told you the Houston Rockets now have the longest active winning streak in the NBA, and that the New Orleans Pelicans have won more over their last 10 games than many playoff contenders?
We've hit the holiday season with a bizarre stretch of basketball, where it truly seems like any non-Oklahoma City Thunder team can win on any given night. But with every surprise winner somes a disappointed loser, and as the .500-ish squads stack up, many fans are growing increasingly frustrated.
These are prime conditions for a much-needed Sour Rankings shakeup. Over half of this week's field is comprised of previously-unranked teams.
If you're new to the Sour Rankings, here's a refresher: Unlike the typical "power rankings" that repeat themselves throughout sports media, Sour Rankings are a bizarro-world counter. These rankings highlight the top-10 most frustrating NBA franchises throughout the season, and they will be updated every week to match the twists and turns of the league.&nbsp;
This is not merely a bottom-10 of your typical best-to-worst power rankings. You will see championship contenders and playoff hopefuls mixed in with struggling squads. Teams well under .500 may never touch the Sour Rankings because they are on track with their respective processes. Injuries, drama, transactions and generally underwhelming play will earn you a spot on this list.
The central question is ultimately this: How good should you feel about the direction of each franchise? Let's get going:
Escaping the Sour Rankings:&nbsp;Cleveland is officially back with Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen has been playing at an All-Star level lately. Even the losses have been of good quality. The Philadelphia 76ers went 2-1 this past week and beat the Atlanta Hawks on national TV behind Joel Embiid's return to his normal self. Pascal Siakam's 31-point game in Toronto's win on Sunday inspired enough confidence in his return to push the Raptors out of these rankings.
Houston also makes the most impressive escape of the season to date. Its six-game winning streak propels the team out of our No. 2 spot. Meanwhile, New Orleans is a respectable 5-5 in the last 10 games and breaks out after holding the No. 1 ranking for most of the early weeks. Good on the Pels.
10. Miami Heat (14-10)
Bam Adebayo is down for an extended period due to thumb surgery, and the Heat have won just one game in his absence against the rudderless Indiana Pacers. They were hit by two crushing losses to the Cavaliers and Milwaukee Bucks who, not coincidentally, have some dominant interior presences. In the defeat to Milwaukee, Miami rolled with a Dewayne Dedmon/PJ Tucker/Max Strus/Omer Yurtseven frontcourt rotation. They're fine players, but none bring the combination of defensive acumen and offensive playmaking of Adebayo.
(Last week: Unranked)
9. Detroit Pistons (4-18)
The Pistons are tied for the longest winless streak and worst record in the NBA &mdash; not exactly coveted crowns. Things have still been touch-and-go for most of the young prospects, but Cade Cunningham does appear to be growing into his role as the offensive hub of the franchise. Cunningham dropped 26 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks against the Trail Blazers, and then 19 points and 5 assists vs. Phoenix.&nbsp;
(Last week: 8)
8. Sacramento Kings (10-14)
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Marvin Bagley III (<a href="https://twitter.com/MB3FIVE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MB3FIVE</a>) in the Kings last 3 wins 20 MINS vs Clippers 12 PTS, 11 REB, 67% FG 35 MINS vs Lakers 13 PTS, 7 REB, 4 AST, 100% FG 19 MINS vs Blazers 10 PTS, 8 REB, 2 3PTS, 67% FG<a href="https://t.co/RbwXyg4woi">pic.twitter.com/RbwXyg4woi</a>
&mdash; Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ballislife/status/1467520387697287168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2021</a></blockquote>

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A solid week for Sacramento, who rebounded from a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers by sweeping the L.A. Clippers in a two-game series. Terence Davis logged two outings of 20-plus points to help grab that win, and Marvin Bagley III chipped in a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds in the second victory over LAC. The Kings are in the midst of a pretty odd stretch, having played just one game in five days. Hopefully that's given interim head coach Alvin Gentry some time to stabilize things.
(Last week: 6)
7. Oklahoma City Thunder (6-16)
Look, I'm still a massive believer in the overall franchise direction of the OKC Thunder franchise. And a young team is going to take its lumps as part of the rebuilding process. But a 73-point loss is a 73-point loss, and an eight-game losing streak is an eight-game losing streak. OKC has to find some way to play meaningful, competitive hoops for the sake of learning and development. Nine of the team's 16 defeats have been by double digits.
(Last week: Unranked)
6. Dallas Mavericks (11-11)
The Mavericks are 2-7 in their last nine games, with those wins coming against the Clippers and Pelicans. They missed Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis on Saturday and lost to a Ja Morant-less Memphis Grizzlies squad in a contest that was not as close as the final score indicates. In this nine-game stretch, the once-high-octane Mavs offense has cleared 110 points just three times.
Dallas fans had to watch with longing as Texas native Desmond Bane, who the team passed on in favor of Josh Green in the 2020 NBA Draft, lit up the court. Green has played 54 minutes this season.
(Last week: Unranked)
5. Portland Trail Blazers (11-13)
So Neil Olshey is finally out as general manager, and based on the reports of his workplace culture (and the team's perpetual mediocrity), that seems like a long overdue move. But the act of firing a general manager midseason should never make you feel good about the team &mdash; it's just an obvious sign that things are not going well. <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/report-damian-lillard-wants-to-play-with-ben-simmons" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Damian Lillard wants to play with Ben Simmons</a>, but would this theoretical pairing be enough to drastically alter Portland's ceiling?&nbsp;
Meanwhile, Lillard is out with an abdominal injury, and the Blazers are 1-5 in their last six games.
(Last week: Unranked)
4. Denver Nuggets (11-11)
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Joker leads the way 🃏 Nikola Jokic goes for 32 PTS, 11 REB and 5 AST in 27 minutes as the <a href="https://twitter.com/nuggets?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nuggets</a> pick up the win in NYC! <a href="https://t.co/uLvOrnFDIn">pic.twitter.com/uLvOrnFDIn</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1467233497051926530?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 4, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Nikola Jokic returned and yanked Denver out of the No. 1 ranking with his 32-point performance in a win over the Knicks. The Nuggets did still drop one to the lowly Orlando Magic, and now Bones Hyland, Austin Rivers and Bol Bol are all in the league's health and safety protocols. We'll see how this ragtag rotation does with four games in the next six days.
(Last week: 1)
3. Los Angeles Lakers (12-12)
The Lakers have played one contest in six days &mdash; a loss to the Clippers. Frank Vogel has now labeled Dwight Howard as the only center in the rotation, which is most notable because it means he still won't label Anthony Davis a center. L.A. gives up the fifth-most turnovers in the league and allows the fourth-most opposing offensive rebounds, so teams receive plenty of chances to score. Next up is a pivotal rivalry rematch against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday.
(Last week: 3)
2. New York Knicks (11-12)
Shaking up the rotation hasn't changed the results. The Knicks are on a three-game losing streak, and got trounced by the injury-plagued Nuggets this weekend. Julius Randle sporadically flips from All-NBA superstar to two-way negative, and RJ Barrett still cannot buy a consistent jump shot. New York got shredded by Denver's bench, consisting of Facundo Campazzo, Zeke Nnaji, Vlatko Cancar, JaMychal Green and the recently-signed Davon Reed.
(Last week: 4)
1. Indiana Pacers (9-16)
Indy Cornrows' Caitlin Cooper wrote an excellent analysis of just <a href="https://www.indycornrows.com/2021/12/5/22815853/how-crunch-time-defines-the-current-state-of-the-pacers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">how bad the Pacers are when crunch time comes</a>. Our own <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/pacers-must-accept-new-reality-and-become-sellers-at-trade-deadline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Evan Sidery slammed the franchise</a> for languishing in mediocrity well past due. Indiana is 9-16 and on the thin edge of the playoff race. Altogether, that alone should explain why the Pacers have plummeted to the No. 1 spot in these rankings.
(Last week: Unranked)

Five new teams appear in the Sour Rankings after some major shakeup.

NBA Sour Rankings: With losers winning, the rankings turn upside down

Brooklyn coach Steve Nash doesn't mind his players feeling a little uncomfortable right now. Or even seeing them suffer a bit.
It can only help later on, the Brooklyn coach reasoned. The Nets were definitely struggling, too, down 21 points to Denver at one point before flipping a switch and storming back.
Kevin Durant scored 33 points, including five free throws over the last 21 seconds, and Kyrie Irving added 31 as the Nets snapped a four-game skid by beating the short-handed Nuggets 125-119 on Saturday night.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m happy for us to be uncomfortable right now. I&rsquo;m happy for us to struggle, suffer," Nash said. "These experiences when we&rsquo;re on the mat are good for us. Our guys responded tonight.&rdquo;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
KD (32 PTS) &amp; Kyrie (31 PTS) helped the Nets overcome a 21-PT deficit 😤 <a href="https://t.co/KIGXNmLIa0">pic.twitter.com/KIGXNmLIa0</a>
&mdash; NBA TV (@NBATV) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBATV/status/1391252831877832712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 9, 2021</a></blockquote>

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The Nets moved a half-game in front of Milwaukee for the second seed in the Eastern Conference. Brooklyn remained three games behind East-leading Philadelphia.
The difference between the first half (outscored 71-56) and the second (outscoring Denver 69-48) was pretty simple to Durant: &ldquo;We got on the same page in the second half and played our hardest."
After trailing by as many as 21 points in the first half, the Nets took the lead for good at 111-110 on a 3-pointer by Joe Harris with 6:12 remaining. It was their first lead since 35 seconds into the game.
But it was far from easy down the stretch. Nikola Jokic had a chance to give the Nuggets the lead with 23.9 seconds left, only to see his turnaround miss. Durant made two free throws to make it 122-119.
Durant was fouled soon after Jokic missed a shot on the other end. The Nuggets big man was upset over the no-call and lost his cool, picking up a technical with 9.1 seconds left. Durant made three free throws to secure the win.
Blake Griffin had 16 of his 20 points in a pivotal third quarter to help the Nets climb back into the game.
Jokic brushed off his seeming irritation with the officials down the stretch, simply saying: &ldquo;No comment. Next question.&rdquo;
Instead, he praised the Nets.
&ldquo;They're a talented team,&rdquo; said Jokic, who finished with 29 points, seven boards and six assists.
Michael Porter Jr. added 28 points, including six 3-pointers, as the Nuggets had their seven-game home winning streak snapped. It was their final regular-season game this season at Ball Arena, where the Nuggets finished 25-11.
Facundo Campazzo had 19 points and little-used Markus Howard chipped in a career-best 13 points with the Nuggets turning to unconventional lineups after playing the night before at Utah.
Aaron Gordon was a late scratch due to tightness in his right calf, joining a growing list of banged-up Nuggets. The injury report now includes Jamal Murray (ACL), Zeke Nnaji (sprained left ankle), Monte Morris (hamstring), Will Barton (hamstring) and PJ Dozier (right adductor strain). Paul Millsap also didn't play just to give him a night off.
In the second quarter, Nuggets coach Michael Malone turned to the little-used lineup of Vlatko Cancar, Bol Bol, Howard, Shaquille Harrison and JaVale McGee.
&ldquo;The silver lining, Markus Howard, Vlatko, Bol, they got a chance to play some real game minutes,&rdquo; Malone said.
TIP-INS
Nets: G James Harden was out for a 17th straight game with a right hamstring strain. ... Durant had 11 boards. ... The Nuggets had a 27-1 edge in second-chance points.
Nuggets: Porter scored Denver's opening 11 points. ... This was the largest blown lead in a loss this season for Denver. The previous biggest was 20 at Washington on Feb. 17.
NASH ON JOKIC
&ldquo;Clearly, I think Jokic is the MVP this year,&rdquo; Nash said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s kind of gone wire-to-wire at this high level, and makes his teammates better, makes everything go. They lose Jamal Murray and they haven&rsquo;t really skipped a beat. That shows how good he is.&rdquo;
SAME GAME
Malone sees similarities between Durant and Porter.
&ldquo;Very similar body types, tremendous size, length,&rdquo; Malone said. &ldquo;Obviously, Kevin Durant&rsquo;s body of work is just tremendous; he&rsquo;s one of the top five players in the world.&rdquo;
Durant has a lot of respect for Porter.
&ldquo;He's a unique player who's going to carve his own lane out in the league,&rdquo; Durant said.
UP NEXT
Nets: Finish a five-game trip Tuesday at Chicago.
Nuggets: At Charlotte on Tuesday as Denver concludes the season with four straight road games.
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More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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