What was supposed to be a tuneup game for the Nuggets, a preseason exhibition against the Perth Wildcats of the Australian National Basketball League, wound up turning into a night of exposure and urgency.
Denver held on to win, but the outcome became in question as late as the end of the third quarter. The final score: 96-88. The final assessment, in the words of head coach Mike Malone: “Against an NBA team, we would’ve gotten blown out tonight.”
Friday’s game was the Nuggets’ first this preseason with its starting five: Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, Will Barton, Paul Millsap and Nikola Jokic, all of whom by design played the bulk of the first quarter as part of Denver’s first-team rotation.