Big upset! The defending champions suffered a 16-point defeat and lost 3 games in a row! Jokic sluggish 11 5 8!
On February 15, Beijing time, the NBA's 2023-24 season began with the Denver Nuggets at home against Sacramento. The Nuggets' performance has been up and down some time ago, with two consecutive losses, losing to the Kings and Bucks, and they are now only fourth in the West, 36-18. After the win over the Nuggets, the Kings have lost two games in a row and now have a 30-23 record, eighth in the West. Both teams could make a comeback in this tournament and a tough battle is about to begin!
In the first quarter, the Kings did not perform well, and the Nuggets seized the opportunity and quickly expanded the score! In this quarter, the Kings had a lot of shots from the perimeter, but the shooting percentage was average, and they only hit two 3-pointers from China. And in the penalty area, they also made three consecutive shots, only scored five, and in one quarter, they scored 17 points! The Nuggets made three of six shots from the perimeter, focusing on offense. The nuggets are not strong in this section, but rely on some small means. In the first quarter, the Nuggets had an 11-11 advantage at 27-16;
In the second quarter, the Kings rebounded, but they couldn't catch up with the score; In this quarter, the Kings almost gave up three points, 1 of 4 three-pointers, mainly breaking through the basket, but the shooting rate was not high, only 25 points in the first quarter. The Nuggets were less than 1-of-4 from three-point range in the quarter, and they had poor shooting. The score was 25-26 in the quarter, and the score was 41-53.
In this quarter, the Kings went on a killing spree, the Nuggets were in a difficult situation, and the score continued to tie; In the quarter, the Kings continued to shoot poorly from the perimeter, shooting 2-of-9, but their restricted area was very effective, conceding only one shot and winning more free throws. The Nuggets shot 2-of-4 from the field and hit just 4 of them, but scored 21 points in the first quarter. After three quarters, the Kings led 74-71 and led three games in the fourth quarter;
In the second half, the Nuggets scored four more points, and then the two sides had a tug-of-war for more than a minute, Porter desperately shot a three-pointer, and the score was further expanded, and Murray hit two free throws in the fourth quarter to help the Lakers score their first two points! Lyles made a layup, Naji made 2 of 2 free throws, Lyles made a layup, and the two sides attacked and defended each other, and the score remained around 3 points. At 87 o'clock, the Kings began the gap between them. In the end, the Nuggets ended two games with a 102-98 advantage and handed the Nuggets three losses.