The Nuggets finally got some reinforcements on Sunday as Christian Braun and Aaron Gordon returned to the lineup after each missing well over a month. But the positive vibes were overshadowed by former Nugget, Michael Porter Jr., lighting his old team up, and leading the Nets to a 127-115 victory in Brooklyn.
Denver tried to make a concerted effort to slow down Mike, but that led to the rest of the Nets’ players getting good looks, which eventually eased the coverage and allowed Porter Jr. to get going. All told, the Nets controlled this game almost from start to finish, and Mike led the way with 27 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists.
Brooklyn was also +22 during Mike’s 32 minutes, which was another team-high. Porter Jr. has talked the talk since getting traded in the offseason, claiming he had plateaued in Denver and that he was capable of doing more with more freedom.
So far, he has been putting his money where his mouth is this season, and he proved it again on Sunday, looking like the best player on the court in a comfortable win over the team that drafted him in 2018 and employed him for seven years.
It didn’t feel like there was necessarily bad blood, per se, but there was definitely a little extra edge for both sides today. Ultimately, Porter Jr. rose to the occasion and won the first round of what figures to be a sort of rivalry for the rest of his career, regardless of what team he plays for.
Mixed bag for Braun and AG in returns
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Despite the loss and getting punked by a longtime Nugget, it was great to see Braun and Gordon back in the lineup. The good news is that each player held up fine and appeared to finish the game with no setbacks or issues.
But both players were on minutes restrictions, and Braun started, but looked a bit rusty. In 24 minutes, he had just 3 points and 2 rebounds, and was a team-worst -22. Gordon came off the bench, just as he did last year when returning from injury, but he looked great.
In 21 minutes, AG put up 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists. The loss stinks, but getting these guys back is going to help massively. Hopefully, they are feeling good and can start to ramp up and increase their minutes. The Nuggets have now lost six of nine, and need to stop the bleeding.