Ryan Blackburn

LNN: A Blowout loss because the defense sucked. How much urgency SHOULD there be in Game 3 of the season?

Final Rotations. Nuggets get blown out at home and pull starters with 4 minutes to go. Warriors ran hot in this game, and Denver didn't have the juice to respond tonight. Will be interesting to hear the postgame comments.

Not the best showing here, but you knew the Warriors would be extremely motivated heading into this one. GSW has shot 16/36 from 3 and 20/21 from FT. Nuggets getting out-rebounded 40-27 by the undersized Dubs. This one is over.

Trevon Brazile is just such an excellent leaper. Catches a lob that leads to a GSW timeout. That sequence started with great defense from Nikola Jokic. His hands have been great tonight.

Trevon brazile just exited the game and had a towel up to his eye after incidental contact on a foul.

DeMar DeRozan's scoring tonight has saved Denver a bit. This is why they brought him in. Not a lot of potency from Denver's starting group. Denver's down 10, but DeRozan is up to 17 points, shooting 7/12 FG and 2/4 3P

Halftime Rotations. Not a good second quarter for Denver. They have only 6 turnovers, but those turned into 11 points for GSW. Nuggets getting hit with the aged double-barrel shotgun of George Niang and Al Horford off the bench, who are a combined 12 points and 4 three-pointers.

Really impressive drive and up-and-under for Jamal Murray from the left baseline. Nuggets outside shooting hasn't dropped yet, but their attacks against an undersized GSW team continue to bear fruit.

Alright Nuggets fans, Ball Arena is ready for tonight. Packed house for Nuggets-Warriors. Curious what kind of game we get tonight. Warriors are motivated to not start 0-4.

David Adelman comments on Nuggets fans booing on Sat: "I can see it both ways. I can see Nikola's point that it's the first game of the season...I think we've won the most home games in the last 10 years. "It was an awful start, for sure. But we've had awful starts and come back and won games."

Wow. OKC effectively suffers two season ending injuries on the same night in October. Cason Wallace labrum tear will need six months post surgery. I had that. It takes a lot of time to get back. Jalen Williams…that injury is heartbreaking.

With Alpha Diallo downgraded to out and also expecting Cam Johnson (doubtful) to miss tonight, Denver's wing rotation is still shorthanded. Said this on Pickaxe, Steph Curry and Draymond Green rested on a B2B on Saturday after losing to MEM on 17-0 run. They will be very motivated.

Going LIVE on Pickaxe and Roll. - Final thoughts on Nuggets-Pels - Complex relationships between fan-media-team - Can the Nuggets have a good week? youtube.com/live/rOgRFaO...

Going LIVE on Locked On Nuggets to answer a simple question: Should Trevon Brazile start while Cam Johnson is out? Plus, takes we wish we could take back! youtube.com/live/DA8N7AR...

I wrote about Nikola Jokic’s comments last night on Nuggets fans booing the home team in the home opener. Tensions ran hot across the board, and I tried to contextualize the disconnect between player and fan at this time milehighsports.com/denver-nugge...

About to go LIVE on Locked On Nuggets with Matt Moore to chat about that Nuggets OT win. -Major comeback -Needed a major setback (and got some boos) -Murray/Jokic big nights -Trevon Brazile steps up www.youtube.com/live/YYsLp-r...

Nikola Jokic on the fans that booed at Ball Arena: “I’m glad you brought that up…if you ask me, they’re not welcome back” Also mentioned that the Nuggets do this all time and fans should know Denver always has a chance.

Final Rotations for the Nuggets who win in overtime against the Pelicans. Murray with 42 points Jokic: 35-15-10-2-4 Brazile: 17 and 9 off the bench After all that, Denver's 1-1.

HUGE three for Trevon Brazile. Then gets a contested rebound after a Pelicans miss. He's stepped up big time tonight.

After a bad three quarters of this game and a whole lotta booing, the Nuggets have completed a 23-point comeback and are heading to overtime. Jamal Murray has 42 points. Trevon Brazile just had another great block.

Well, this Nuggets run has been QUITE something. Murray and Joker willing them back. Great defense from Braun, Gordon, and Brazile.

Trevon Brazile playing some good basketball here on both ends of the floor, and the Nuggets are suddenly down 11 points with 9:02 to go in the game. That last one was a really big shot to hit.

Jamal Murray has 32 points. He turned his ankle right at the end of the third quarter but was trying very hard to keep the Nuggets in this one offensively. Can Denver create offense and (get stops) without him in the 4th?

The Pelicans are shooting 28-of-34 in the paint vs the Nuggets. 82.4%

3 straight Pelicans baskets, 2 of them due to offensive rebounds and another timeout for David Adelman, who is searching for answers and hustle right now. More boos rain down.

Trey Murphy has been the best player on the floor in Denver tonight. He looks really good and really comfortable. Nuggets don't have a lot of answers if New Orleans can get out and run.

Halftime Rotations. Nuggets down 73-57. Jamal Murray's shooting keeping Denver in it. He's a +1 in a game the Nuggets trail by 16. Denver's going to have to figure out who's actually willing to commit to defense with this group. The crowd is very restless and angry.

Denver can't string together three straight good possessions right now. The inconsistency has been rough on both ends of the floor. There was a moment when they found a rhythm but the Pelicans immediately quashed the momentum.

Some boos are raining down at Ball Arena with 10:15 left to go left in the second quarter as the Nuggets trail the Pelicans 45-26. Not great.

Denver's defense in this game has been pretty bad. Very rare for New Orleans to have a bad offensive possession at this point.

Alright Nuggets fans. First game in the building at Ball Arena tonight. Let's have some fun.

Bryce Hopkins starts at SF in place of Cam Johnson. Denver without Johnson (starting 3), Julian Strawther (backup 2), Alpha Diallo (backup 2/3), and Spencer Jones (backup 3/4/5). Interesting that Denver's keeping DeRozan as the 6th man for continuity.

I missed this report from @jakelfischer.bsky.social involving Zeke Nnaji and Denver's inability to package his salary despite offering multiple second round picks and a pick swap. It's wild how much of a bind this contract has placed on Denver's finances.

David Adelman on injuries already disrupting DEN rotation: "I threw [Aaron Gordon] out there with a lineup in the third quarter that he had not played with this whole month." "I can't believe this is Game 2 where I'll already be doing this, but there's going to be a lot of opportunity for people."

Figuring out who will play for the Nuggets on the wing tonight is an adventure. Cam Johnson, Julian Strawther, and Spencer Jones are OUT. Alpha Diallo is questionable. Wings available are DeRozan, Whitmore, Hopkins, and maybe a bigger lineup featuring Brazile. NOP on back-to-back.

Going live on Pickaxe and Roll at the top of the hour to chat about Denver's loss last night. - Reactions vs Overreactions - Good defense, horrible offense (?!) - Jokic/Murray did not look good - A starter is already hurt youtube.com/live/Lxl1Nwa...

New article on the Nuggets after losing the season opener to OKC… Are they a different team or not? milehighsports.com/denver-nugge...

LNN: The Denver Nuggets season opener started well, but the Thunder overwhelmed Denver with defense in the second half. Oh, and there's an injury already.

Final Rotations. Nuggets lose going away to the Thunder with some major second half scoring struggles. Jokic - 13 points on 19 shots Murray - 6 points, 2/11 FG, 6 TOVs DeRozan - 13 points, 5 TOVs in Nuggets debut Moral victory: the defense was pretty good and SGA finished with 17 points.

21 turnovers and 13/20 from the free throw line. The Nuggets just not taking care of what they can control or else they'd be in this game.

Alright, Jokic is 5/18. Murray is 2/10. It's time to play exclusively through your best player: Aaron Gordon.

This is just a very competitive game. Neither team can get clear of the other because the defense has been so good both ways, which...I'm not used to yet.

Nuggets losing a bit of composure here. The OKC grabbing and flopping is incessant, and Denver can't get thrown by the calls that aren't going their way. This is just what happens in this building.

Halftime Rotations for the Nuggets who lead 48-44. Thunder shot 4/22 from 3 in that half, but Denver shot 4/16 as well. Liked Denver's process defensively. Cam Johnson didn't close the half even though he has just 2 fouls. AG leads all scorers with 12 points.

Salute to Christian Braun for this defensive performance. SGA gets his first points (at the line of course) with 1:40 to play in the half.

Overall, a really strong first half bench performance for the Nuggets. That's where OKC usually shines and Denver's extending their lead.

Trevon Brazile just had 8 rebounds in 5 minutes.

One thing you notice about the Nuggets starters is how methodical they are vs the OKC pressure at this point. They've seen it a lot and are just a bit more comfortable than they used to be.