This season, the second-year wing has appeared more at ease shooting three points. In December, Watson made 2.5 tries per game from a distance and connected on 37.8% of his long-range shots, compared to missing all seven of his efforts in November. In January, the percentage fell to 29.5%, although he still attempted 2.9 shots each contest. In the fourth quarter of Friday’s victory over Portland, he made both of his 3-pointers, and on Sunday, he scored two of his three in the 112-103 victory.
Watson declared during Sunday’s game, “It’s a shot that I work on, and I’m not going to disrespect anybody’s job.” “I put a lot of time into it, and it was one of those things where the game gave me what it gave me, and I took it.”
In the first quarter of Sunday’s game, Watson made his first basket, a little jumper inside the free-throw line with a step from the baseline. He also pulled down a few rebounds, including one on an alley-oop attempt by Deandre Ayton above the rim following a Portland timeout. He received a highlight block, but he wasn’t quite happy with it.
“I’ll be honest, I was mad at myself because I was a little late,” Watson stated. However, since you have to give it your all to win, games are always good and bad. That being said, in this league, mistakes are forgiven. Any night now, I could have been the subject of a poster. I simply tried to contest the shot by going up, and I was able to block it. However, I was undoubtedly upset with myself since I wasn’t where I ought to be.”
Then, with the Trail Blazers unable to locate him, the second-year wing ignited Denver’s comeback at the beginning of the fourth quarter with a self-assured pull-up three that increased the advantage to seven points.
“That was one of those ‘no, no, no – great shot,'” Nuggets coach Michael Malone remarked during Denver’s second victory over Portland. “The kid’s got balls, man.”
In the final seconds of the game on Sunday, Watson scored 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting with six rebounds, two steals, a block, and an assist. He also added another mid-range jumper and finished with a put-back dunk in the middle of the fourth. Watson shot 4-of-5 from three-point range and 11-of-14 from the floor in two games versus Portland.
“Playing in the NBA and getting valuable and crucial minutes for a current champion team at the age of 21, that means a lot to me,” Watson stated. “I’ll never take it lightly, and I appreciate the people who believe in me for this role.”
Playing defense behind the arc and outside the baseline, where growth outside the paint and paint has allowed Watson to consider Denver’s closing lineup, is where Watson’s athleticism really shines. He scored 10 points in the fourth quarter while playing with Denver’s starting lineup on Friday. On Sunday, he played with Jokic and scored 10 of his 12 points in the fourth quarter.
“At 21 years old, to be a young player and be able to play valuable and crucial minutes for a current champion team, that means a lot to me,” Watson stated. “I’ll never take it lightly, and I appreciate the people who believe in me for this role.”
What Happened: The Nuggets won again, but the game began very differently than the Friday comparison. The Trail Blazers led 63-60 at the half after leading by 12 points after one quarter. The Nuggets took their first lead of the game at 86-84 to begin the fourth quarter after an 11-0 surge to conclude the third. Denver increased to 35-16 on the season after taking a 10-point lead in the fourth minute.
What Worked: Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic combined for 17 assists and just three turnovers. With 10 assists and just one turnover, Murray had the advantage over Jokic, who had a 7-to-2 ratio. Jokic scored the most, with 29, followed by Murray’s 21.
What Went Wrong: Portland’s Anfernee Simons picked up where he left off Friday. Simons wasted no time in the first half of Sunday’s game after scoring 26 of his 29 points in the first half in the opening game of the weekend.
This is the English translation of the content that was provided:
“He scored fifteen points. He needed just seven shots to reach that mark, four of which began from the 3-point line.
Michael Porter Jr.’s efforts on both ends to pull Denver within one point at the beginning of the third quarter were the night’s major highlight. He started by interfering with Jabari Walker’s driving layup. Then, as the shot clock was getting low, Porter came out to block Mattis Thaibou’s attempt at a jumper. As Porter raced down the court and finished with an alley-oop from Jamal Murray, Nikola Jokic snatched the rebound.”