Game ID: 22300488
Orlando Magic @ Denver Nuggets
Friday, January 5, 2024 at 9:00 PM ET
Ball Arena, Denver, CO
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
DEN 37 30 31 22 120ORL 28 26 41 27 122
DEN vs ORL ScoutingDEN vs ORL Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
DEN availability going into 12/28 · 2 days' restOUT Holiday missed 4 since 12/20, returns tonight: 18 min (122% of 15)
OUT Jordan missed 2 since 12/23, returns tonight: 12 min (116% of 11)
BACK Caldwell-Pope back 12/18 after 2, 31 min since (98% of 32)
DEN availability going into 12/29 · back-to-backBACK Holiday back 12/28 after 4, 18 min since (122% of 15)
BACK Jordan back 12/22 after 2, 9 min since (86% of 11)
DEN availability going into 1/01 · 2 days' restOUT Gordon missed 2 since 12/28, returns tonight: 25 min (76% of 32)
BACK Holiday back 12/28 after 4, 17 min since (115% of 15)
BACK Jordan back 12/22 after 2, 11 min since (98% of 11)
DEN availability going into 1/04 · 2 days' restBACK Gordon back 1/01 after 2, 25 min since (76% of 32)
BACK Holiday back 12/28 after 4, 17 min since (115% of 15)
BACK Jordan back 12/28 after 2, 13 min since (119% of 11)
DEN availability going into 1/05 · back-to-backOUT Holiday missed 2 since 1/01, returns tonight: 10 min (69% of 15)
OUT Jordan missed 2 since 1/01, out tonight
BACK Gordon back 1/01 after 2, 30 min since (93% of 32)
NEW Watson 18 to 23 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 1/07 · 1 day's restOUT Jordan missed 3 since 1/01, returns tonight: 21 min (194% of 11)
BACK Gordon back 1/01 after 2, 32 min since (99% of 32)
BACK Holiday back 12/28 after 4, 15 min since (99% of 15)
DEN availability going into 1/10 · 2 days' restOUT Strawther missed 2 since 1/05, out tonight
BACK Gordon back 1/01 after 2, 29 min since (90% of 32)
BACK Holiday back 1/05 after 2, 7 min since (49% of 15)
BACK Jordan back 1/07 after 3, 21 min since (194% of 11)
DEN availability going into 1/12 · 1 day's restOUT Strawther missed 3 since 1/05, out tonight
BACK Gordon back 1/01 after 2, 29 min since (90% of 32)
BACK Holiday back 1/05 after 2, 9 min since (61% of 15)
BACK Jordan back 1/07 after 3, 14 min since (132% of 11)
DEN availability going into 1/14 · 1 day's restOUT Strawther missed 4 since 1/05, out tonight
BACK Holiday back 1/05 after 2, 7 min since (49% of 15)
BACK Jordan back 1/07 after 3, 14 min since (131% of 11)
ORL availability going into 12/29 · 1 day's restOUT Fultz missed 22 since 11/11, out tonight
OUT Ingles missed 6 since 12/17, out tonight
OUT Isaac missed 2 since 12/26, out tonight
BACK Suggs back 12/26 after 2, 29 min since (105% of 28)
BACK Carter Jr. back 12/20 after 20, 21 min since (81% of 26)
NEW Black 16 to 25 min over the last 5
ORL availability going into 12/31 · 1 day's restOUT Gar. Harris missed 2 since 12/27, returns tonight: 32 min (134% of 24)
OUT Fultz missed 23 since 11/11, out tonight
OUT Ingles missed 7 since 12/17, out tonight
OUT Isaac missed 3 since 12/26, out tonight
BACK Suggs back 12/26 after 2, 30 min since (107% of 28)
NEW Black 16 to 27 min over the last 5
NEW Houstan 13 to 19 min over the last 5
ORL availability going into 1/02 · 1 day's restOUT Fultz missed 24 since 11/11, out tonight
OUT Ingles missed 8 since 12/17, out tonight
OUT Isaac missed 4 since 12/26, out tonight
OUT Queen missed 2 since 12/29, out tonight
BACK Suggs back 12/26 after 2, 29 min since (107% of 28)
BACK Gar. Harris back 12/31 after 2, 32 min since (134% of 24)
NEW Black 16 to 27 min over the last 5
ORL availability going into 1/03 · back-to-backOUT Fultz missed 25 since 11/11, out tonight
OUT Ingles missed 9 since 12/17, out tonight
OUT Isaac missed 5 since 12/26, out tonight
OUT Queen missed 3 since 12/29, returns tonight: 38 min (322% of 12)
BACK Suggs back 12/26 after 2, 30 min since (108% of 28)
BACK Gar. Harris back 12/31 after 2, 31 min since (126% of 24)
NEW F. Wagner 33 to 38 min over the last 5
NEW Black 16 to 24 min over the last 5
ORL availability going into 1/05 · 1 day's restOUT Fultz missed 26 since 11/11, out tonight
OUT Ingles missed 10 since 12/17, out tonight
OUT Isaac missed 6 since 12/26, out tonight
BACK Gar. Harris back 12/31 after 2, 24 min since (100% of 24)
BACK Queen back 1/03 after 3, 38 min since (322% of 12)
NEW Black 16 to 22 min over the last 5
NEW Bitadze 15 to 23 min over the last 5
NEW Houstan 13 to 19 min over the last 5
ORL availability going into 1/07 · 1 day's restOUT Fultz missed 27 since 11/11, returns tonight: 15 min (73% of 20)
OUT Ingles missed 11 since 12/17, out tonight
OUT Isaac missed 7 since 12/26, out tonight
BACK Gar. Harris back 12/31 after 2, 24 min since (100% of 24)
BACK Queen back 1/03 after 3, 34 min since (292% of 12)
NEW Suggs 28 to 33 min over the last 5
NEW Bitadze 15 to 27 min over the last 4
ORL availability going into 1/09 · 1 day's restOUT F. Wagner missed 2 since 1/05, out tonight
OUT Carter Jr. missed 2 since 1/05, out tonight
OUT Gar. Harris missed 2 since 1/05, out tonight
OUT Ingles missed 12 since 12/17, out tonight
OUT Isaac missed 8 since 12/26, out tonight
BACK Fultz back 1/07 after 27, 15 min since (73% of 20)
BACK Queen back 1/03 after 3, 25 min since (211% of 12)
NEW Banchero 35 to 40 min over the last 5
NEW Suggs 28 to 32 min over the last 5
NEW Bitadze 15 to 26 min over the last 4
NEW Houstan 13 to 21 min over the last 5
ORL availability going into 1/12 · 2 days' restOUT F. Wagner missed 3 since 1/05, out tonight
OUT Carter Jr. missed 3 since 1/05, out tonight
OUT Gar. Harris missed 3 since 1/05, out tonight
OUT Ingles missed 13 since 12/17, returns tonight: 20 min (121% of 16)
OUT Isaac missed 9 since 12/26, out tonight
BACK Fultz back 1/07 after 27, 14 min since (68% of 20)
BACK Queen back 1/03 after 3, 26 min since (219% of 12)
NEW M. Wagner 18 to 25 min over the last 5
NEW Bitadze 15 to 25 min over the last 4
NEW Houstan 13 to 27 min over the last 5
ORL availability going into 1/13 · back-to-backOUT F. Wagner missed 4 since 1/05, out tonight
OUT Carter Jr. missed 4 since 1/05, out tonight
OUT Gar. Harris missed 4 since 1/05, out tonight
OUT Isaac missed 10 since 12/26, returns tonight: 15 min (93% of 16)
BACK Fultz back 1/07 after 27, 15 min since (73% of 20)
BACK Ingles back 1/12 after 13, 20 min since (121% of 16)
BACK Queen back 1/03 after 3, 22 min since (187% of 12)
NEW Banchero 35 to 40 min over the last 5
NEW M. Wagner 18 to 27 min over the last 5
NEW Bitadze 15 to 23 min over the last 4
NEW Houstan 13 to 32 min over the last 5
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 112, shooting 51 percent and 39 from three, 22 free throws a game; Jokić at 24 and Murray at 22 a game. Second night of a back-to-back. Orlando comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 118, shooting 45 percent and 37 from three, 25 free throws a game; Banchero at 29 and F. Wagner at 23 a game. That is 3 straight losses. Without Fultz (26 straight), Ingles (10 straight), Isaac (6 straight). One day's rest.
So: Denver wins, and the game turns on the turnovers, Orlando giving it away 17 times a game to Denver's 12 and the defense, Denver allowing 112 a night to Orlando's 118. Call it Denver 117, Orlando 111.
12/28 vs MEM 142-105 — DEN notes
DEN won 142-105. DEN shot 57% (55 of 96) to MEM's 42%, 20 of 41 from three, and got to the line 14 times to MEM's 25. The glass went 53-36 for them. Jokić led with 26 (11 of 11); Murray added 23, Watson 20. The hinge was Q4, 36-22: a lead of 23 became 37. Watson was the night's best plus/minus at +28.
12/29 vs OKC 93-119 — DEN notes
DEN lost 93-119. DEN shot 42% (36 of 85) to OKC's 51%, 10 of 37 from three. DEN turned it over 16 times to OKC's 11, and OKC turned those into 10 steals. The glass went 36-51 against them. Jokić led with 19 (9 of 10); Watson added 14, Porter Jr. 12. Q2 was theirs, 21-21, but the other 3 periods went 98-72 against them. Murray's -20 in 36 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/01 vs CHA 111-93 — DEN notes
DEN won 111-93. DEN shot 49% (41 of 83) to CHA's 42%, 15 of 38 from three. Murray led with 25 (7 of 16, 5 of 9 from three, 6 of 7 at the line); Porter Jr. added 22, Jackson 15. The hinge was Q3, 40-17: from level to 23 ahead, and the lead reached 27. Porter Jr. was the night's best plus/minus at +33.
1/04 @ GSW 130-127 — DEN notes
DEN won 130-127. DEN shot 56% (48 of 85) to GSW's 54%, 9 of 26 from three, and went to the line 29 times to GSW's 16 — 25 points from the stripe to their 14. Jokić led with 34 (13 of 16, 6 of 7 at the line); Gordon added 30, Murray 25. The hinge was Q4, 36-20: DEN came in trailing by 13 and left it ahead by 3. Murray was the night's best plus/minus at +9.
1/05 vs ORL 120-122 — DEN notes
DEN lost 120-122. DEN took 13 more shots (95 to 82), but shot 51% to ORL's 50%, 9 of 33 from three, and got to the line 19 times to ORL's 34. Jokić led with 29 (13 of 19); Porter Jr. added 22, Murray 20. Q1 was theirs, 37-28, but the other 3 periods went 94-83 against them. They led by as many as 18. Watson's -16 in 13 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/07 vs DET — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 113, shooting 51 percent and 36 from three, 19 free throws a game; Jokić at 24 and Murray at 20 a game. One day's rest. Detroit comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 132, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 24 free throws a game; Cunningham at 26 and Bogdanović at 20 a game. That is 3 straight losses. It has won the glass by 4 a night. Without Stewart (5 straight), Bagley III (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Denver wins, and the game turns on the defense, Denver allowing 113 a night to Detroit's 132 and the turnovers, Detroit giving it away 15 times a game to Denver's 11. Call it Denver 123, Detroit 114.
1/10 @ UTA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Utah comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 126 a night and allowing 118, shooting 49 percent and 34 from three, 27 free throws a game; Markkanen at 24 and Clarkson at 19 a game. It has won the glass by 6 a night. Without Hendricks (7 straight), Horton-Tucker (2 straight), Juzang (12 straight). One day's rest. Denver comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 115, shooting 51 percent and 33 from three, 22 free throws a game; Murray at 23 and Jokić at 20 a game. 2 days' rest.
So: Utah wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Utah has been plus-6 a night and Denver minus-3 and the turnovers, Utah giving it away 15 times a game to Denver's 12. Call it Utah 118, Denver 116, Denver keeping it close.
1/12 vs NOP — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 116, shooting 52 percent and 36 from three, 25 free throws a game; Murray at 25 and Jokić at 21 a game. One day's rest. New Orleans comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 101, shooting 51 percent and 46 from three, 19 free throws a game; McCollum at 19 and Williamson at 17 a game. It has won the glass by 9 a night. Without Alvarado (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Denver wins, and the game turns on the arc, New Orleans at 46 percent from three to Denver's 36 and the glass, where New Orleans has been plus-9 a night and Denver minus-1. Call it Denver 115, New Orleans 114, New Orleans keeping it close.
1/14 vs IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 120, shooting 53 percent and 36 from three, 24 free throws a game; Jokić at 24 and Murray at 24 a game. One day's rest. Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 115, shooting 54 percent and 40 from three, 19 free throws a game; Mathurin at 19 and Turner at 17 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Haliburton (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Denver wins, and the game turns on the line, where Denver takes 24 free throws a game to Indiana's 19. Call it Denver 121, Indiana 119, Indiana keeping it close.
12/29 vs NYK 117-108 — ORL notes
ORL won 117-108. ORL shot 45% (40 of 89) to NYK's 44%, 7 of 33 from three, and went to the line 40 times to NYK's 29 — 30 points from the stripe to their 26. F. Wagner led with 32 (11 of 19, 3 of 5 from three, 7 of 7 at the line); Banchero added 29, Suggs 21. The hinge was Q2, 29-15: ORL came in trailing by 3 and left it ahead by 11, and the lead reached 20. Bitadze was the night's best plus/minus at +16.
12/31 @ PHX 107-112 — ORL notes
ORL lost 107-112. ORL shot 47% (42 of 90) to PHX's 50%, 12 of 37 from three, and got to the line just 12 times against 18 fouls committed. ORL turned it over 15 times to PHX's 6, and PHX turned those into 11 steals. The glass went 45-35 for them. Banchero led with 28 (12 of 23, 2 of 6 from three); F. Wagner added 27, Carter Jr. 17. Q3 was theirs, 29-22, the deficit cut from 9 to 2, but the other 3 periods went 90-78 against them. Black's -19 in 22 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/02 @ GSW 115-121 — ORL notes
ORL lost 115-121. ORL took 14 more shots (92 to 78), fed by 16 offensive rebounds, but shot 45% to GSW's 54%, 14 of 36 from three, and got to the line 23 times to GSW's 37. ORL turned it over 17 times to GSW's 12, and GSW turned those into 9 steals. Banchero led with 27 (8 of 20, 3 of 8 from three, 8 of 11 at the line); F. Wagner added 25, Bitadze 13. Q2 was theirs, 27-25, the deficit cut from 2 to 0, but the other 3 periods went 96-88 against them. Bitadze's -15 in 26 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/03 @ SAC 135-138 — ORL notes
ORL lost 135-138 in 2 overtimes. ORL shot 49% (44 of 90) to SAC's 49%, 25 of 44 from three. The glass went 39-58 against them. Banchero led with 43 (13 of 25, 6 of 9 from three, 11 of 14 at the line); Suggs added 24, Houstan 15. Q3 was theirs, 34-24, the deficit cut from 12 to 2, but the other 5 periods went 114-101 against them. Bitadze's -15 in 28 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/05 @ DEN 122-120 — ORL notes
ORL won 122-120. ORL shot 50% (41 of 82) to DEN's 51%, 17 of 36 from three, and went to the line 34 times to DEN's 19 — 23 points from the stripe to their 15. Banchero led with 32 (8 of 21, 1 of 4 from three, 15 of 19 at the line); Suggs added 27, Anthony 23. The hinge was Q3, 41-31: the deficit went from 13 to 3. ORL trailed 54-67 at the half and won the second half 68-53. Queen was the night's best plus/minus at +10.
1/07 vs ATL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Orlando comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 120, shooting 47 percent and 40 from three, 27 free throws a game; Banchero at 32 and F. Wagner at 22 a game. Without Fultz (27 straight), Ingles (11 straight), Isaac (7 straight). One day's rest. Atlanta comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 130, shooting 46 percent and 32 from three, 29 free throws a game; Young at 24 and Murray at 24 a game. It has won the glass by 7 a night. Without Hunter (7 straight), Krejčí (6 straight). One day's rest.
So: Orlando wins, and the game turns on the arc, Orlando at 40 percent from three to Atlanta's 32 and the defense, Orlando allowing 120 a night to Atlanta's 130. Call it Orlando 123, Atlanta 118.
1/09 vs MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Orlando comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 120, shooting 47 percent and 44 from three, 24 free throws a game; Banchero at 33 and F. Wagner at 19 a game. Without F. Wagner (2 straight), Carter Jr. (2 straight), Gar. Harris (2 straight). One day's rest. Minnesota comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 109, shooting 48 percent and 36 from three, 24 free throws a game; Edwards at 32 and Towns at 21 a game. One day's rest.
So: Orlando wins, and the game turns on the arc, Orlando at 44 percent from three to Minnesota's 36 and the defense, Minnesota allowing 109 a night to Orlando's 120. Call it Orlando 114, Minnesota 112, Minnesota keeping it close.
1/12 @ MIA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Miami comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 114, shooting 45 percent and 36 from three, 26 free throws a game; Adebayo at 22 and Herro at 17 a game. Without Butler III (5 straight), Martin (7 straight). One day's rest. Orlando comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 120, shooting 45 percent and 43 from three, 25 free throws a game; Banchero at 31 and Suggs at 19 a game. Without F. Wagner (3 straight), Carter Jr. (3 straight), Gar. Harris (3 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Miami wins, and the game turns on the arc, Orlando at 43 percent from three to Miami's 36 and the turnovers, Orlando giving it away 15 times a game to Miami's 11. Call it Miami 115, Orlando 113, Orlando keeping it close.
1/13 @ OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 131 a night and allowing 118, shooting 57 percent and 42 from three, 22 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 32 and Holmgren at 20 a game. That is 3 straight wins. One day's rest. Orlando comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 116, shooting 44 percent and 41 from three, 24 free throws a game; Banchero at 31 and Suggs at 18 a game. Without F. Wagner (4 straight), Carter Jr. (4 straight), Gar. Harris (4 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: OKC wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it OKC 122, Orlando 113.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
ORLAB A. Black
AS A. Schofield
CA C. Anthony
CH C. Houstan
CO C. Okeke
JS J. Suggs
MW M. Wagner
PB P. Banchero
TQ T. Queen
DENAG A. Gordon
BK B. Key
CB C. Braun
JH J. Holiday
JM J. Murray
JO Jokic
KC K. Caldwell-Pope
MP M. Porter Jr.
NJ N. Jokić
PW P. Watson
RJ R. Jackson
ZN Z. Nnaji
ORL/DEN the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Banchero records 1st triple-double, hits go-ahead free throws as Magic hold off Nuggets 122-120
DENVER -- — Paolo Banchero was pleased with his first career triple-double. What made it even better was its central role in a stirring comeback.
Banchero hit a pair of go-ahead free throws with 9.7 seconds remaining and the short-handed Orlando Magic rallied Friday night for a 122-120 win over the Denver Nuggets .
The young Magic forward finished with 32 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. He hit four free throws in the last 34.6 seconds in a game where the Magic trailed by as many as 18 points in the third quarter.
“Just the power of just positive energy and just pushing each other,” said Banchero, who was 15 of 19 from the free throw line. “We just told each other, ‘We’re all we got. We're going to live with the result, whatever it is, but we’re not just going to roll over and let these guys blow us out.'”
With the game tied at 120, the Nuggets had a chance to take the lead. But Moritz Wagner stole a pass from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and fed it to Banchero, who drew a foul and made the free throws.
The final play of the game was designed to go to either Jamal Murray or Nikola Jokic , but the Magic defended it well. Murray's 10-foot floater rimmed out at the buzzer.
“Sometimes, we miss,” Jokic explained. “Sometimes, we make.”
Like the night before, when the Nuggets rallied from an 18-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Golden State Warriors on Jokic’s buzzer-beating 40-foot jumper .
Trailing 78-60 midway through the third, the Magic found their rhythm against a Nuggets team that showed signs of fatigue down the stretch. Orlando hit 17 3-pointers and went 23 of 34 from the free-throw line.
“We lost this game in the third quarter,” said Nuggets coach Michael Malone, whose team was outscored 41-31 in the pivotal quarter. “It’s back-to-back nights where our third-quarter defense has been just completely nonexistent. ... As I told our guys, whatever you’re doing at halftime, it’s not working — individually and collectively.
"Disappointing outcome.”
Jalen Suggs had a career-high 27 points for an Orlando team that went 1/3 in a four-game swing out West.
The Magic had a lengthy list of players sitting out Friday, including Markelle Fultz (left knee), Gary Harris (right calf), Wendell Carter Jr . (right knee), Joe Ingles (left ankle), Jonathan Isaac (right hamstring), Goga Bitadze (illness) and Franz Wagner (right ankle).
“It speaks volumes to the character that we have on this team,” said Suggs, who was 7 of 9 from 3-point range. “Not only next man up, but the confidence to trust and believe in each other. We weren’t walking out there like, ‘Oh, let’s just get it over with and go back home.’ We wanted to go win the game."
Jokic led Denver with 29 points in a game where Malone utilized 11 players to spread out the minutes. Michael Porter Jr . had 22 and Murray 20. They're still working on getting everyone involved within the flow of the offense.
“It's tough, because we do have a lot of guys who game-to-game, it could be a different hot hand,” Porter said. “That's a blessing and a curse, sometimes. Maybe the answer is staggering a couple starters with the bench unit. I don't really know the answer. I do feel like there are times in the game where Aaron (Gordon) doesn't touch the ball for an extended period of time. Or myself ... It's definitely a tough balance to find.
"That’s really up to the coaches. That’s their job. That’s not our job. So we just do what we’re told, try to space the floor the right way, play through big fella. That’s all we can do. As the season goes on, we’ll continue to get better and better at finding that balance.”
UP NEXT
Magic: Return home to play Atlanta on Sunday night.
Nuggets: Host the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night.