In arguably the biggest upset of Wednesday night's jam-packed slate of games, the Denver Nuggets proved no match to a Utah Jazz side that many consider being one of the least talented teams in the entire NBA this season. That did not look like the case on Wednesday, though, as the Nuggets struggled to remain competitive against a Jazz side that eventually ran away with a blowout victory, 123-102.
After the game, Nuggets head coach Michael Malone got brutally honest about his team's performance on the evening. The Denver shot-caller admitted that they were simply no match against their opponents (via Mike Singer of The Denver Post)
“That team dominated us in every regard,” said Malone.
“We didn’t play hard enough in that first half, and that was evident with the rebounding.”
To be fair, the Nuggets put up a better effort after the break, but the Jazz still ended up outrebounding them 43-35, which resulted in no less than 26 second-chance points for Utah.
Article Continues BelowThis was also Jamal Murray's first game back after sitting out the entire 2021-22 season due to an ACL injury. It was an undeniably disappointing overall performance for the team, but for his part, the silver lining for Murray is that he's happy to just be back on the court:
“That was the first time I completed a whole game,” Murray. “I can check that off my list.”
Murray got the start in this one, and he managed to play 26 minutes. Unsurprisingly, the 25-year-old looked rusty at times, as he went for 12 points on 5-of-13 shooting and 1-of-4 from beyond the arc.
It only gets tougher from here on out for Murray and Co. They get the defending champs Golden State Warriors on Friday, which will be an early test for the Nuggets and their title hopes this season.