The Denver Nuggets continued their strong start to the 2018-19 season with a 126-112 victory over the Sacramento Kings.

In what could have been a let down game for the Nuggets, it wasn’t. Denver dominated the pace of play and led for all 48 minutes in their fourth victory of the season.

“Last year and the year before, coming down to there wire the last five games, we don’t want to do that anymore.” Malik Beasley said when asked about the Nuggets mindset playing the Kings. “It starts now and I think thats been a point of emphasis. Sometimes you got to go through it before you really figure it out and that’s what we’re doing.”

Beasley and the Nuggets certainly seem to have figured it out and their victory on Tuesday night over the Kings proves that.

Gary Harris continues his dominance offensively 

During his five years in Denver, Harris has constantly grown as an offensive playmaker. All of Harris’ offensive tricks were on display Tuesday night scoring in every way imaginable. Whether it was courtesy of a step back mid-range jumper, a three-pointer, or just a straight drive to the rim, Harris was scoring at will against the Kings.

Harris was on fire from the opening tip as he poured in 11 of his 16 first half points in the opening quarter. Of his seven first-half makes, two came from behind the three point line.

After not playing much of the second half and none of the fourth quarter, Harris finished the night with 18 points 8-12 shooting from the field. The other number that jumps out from Harris’ night is his five assists to go along with just one turnover. The ability for him to get his teammates involved is huge, and it only compliments his scoring that much more.

With Will Barton out for the foreseeable future, Harris has an opportunity to become an even more lethal offensive weapon. With more shots for the taking, Harris certainly looks the part of a player looking to score, which could be huge for the Nuggets success moving forward.

Nuggets bench unit continues to play well; especially Monte Morris

For two straight games, Denver’s second unit has showcased the rhythm they displayed so often during the preseason. With solid contributions all around, all six of Denver’s bench players found ways to impact the game positively against Sacramento. With an increased role, the bench chipped in a season-high 53 points and were awarded the opportunity to play most of the second half.

“For those guys to get that many minutes — rest our starters — that is always a good thing.” Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said on the extended minutes for the bench unit.

One player who continues to separate himself from the pack is Monte Morris. After Jamal Murray picked up his second foul of the first quarter with 8:39 left, in came Morris, and the starters didn’t miss a beat as Morris controlled the pace of play and ran the Nuggets starting five at a high level.

The same happened in the second half, as Morris played most of the final two quarters, contributing to his game high 28 minutes. During his almost 30 minutes of action, Morris poured in 11 points on 4-12 shooting, not to be outdone by his seven assists, three rebounds, and zero turnovers.

Other bench players that stood out were Malik Beasley (11 points), Trey Lyles (12 points), and Mason Plumlee (11 points). Those three combined for a solid chunk of the second units scoring output and did a solid job keeping the Nuggets comfortably in front for most of the night.

Jamal Murray posts his best game of the season 

After struggling in the Warriors game, Nuggets’ point guard Jamal Murray seemed to find his offensive rhythm in the second half against Sacramento. After scoring just seven points on 0-9 shooting against Golden State, Murray bounced back scoring a team high 19 points, with 14 of those coming in the third quarter.

“I made a concerted effort to go to (Murray) to start the third quarter,” Malone said. “Get him going, get him back into the game, and he did in a big way.”

That rhythm is huge for Murray, who posted his second-highest scoring game of the year. His highest came against Phoenix when he scored 26, but even that game failed to showcase the array of moves Murray can score with. When Murray is hitting threes in transition and step backs, its when you know he is feeling it offensively.

Murray also played just 18 minutes tonight, which was the lowest from any player in the 11-man rotation. Not having to play the fourth quarter was huge for Murray, whose been battling a couple of injuries in Denver’s past few games. Between scoring at a high rate, while also getting some rest, the Kings game definitely provides Murray some positives going into the Nuggets next game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Paul Millsap find his groove offensively 

Like Murray, Paul Millsap found something offensively against the Kings. He was in attack mode like he has been all season, but his shots finally started falling. Millsap finished the night with a season-high 15 points on an efficient 6-10 from the field drilling his first three of the season in the process.

“Its good to see Paul Millsap kind of get going, find a rhythm,” Malone said on Millsap’s night. “He went at his match up and he scored. If he can get into an offensive rhythm and find some confidence, it is going to help us out a lot.”

If Millsap starts to find a groove offensively, its only going to compliment his all-around game. Through the Nuggets first four games, he has showcased a defensive intensity that has sorely been lacking. It hasn’t been lack of effort though, as Millsap’s put good shots up, but they just have not been falling. They fell against Sacramento though, providing Millsap some confidence moving into the Nuggets next game against the Lakers.

Nuggets take care of business against an inferior opponent 

In seasons past, the Nuggets might have played down to their opponent, but not tonight. Denver found a way to take care of business in dominating fashion as they were in control for all 48 minutes. In a game where the Nuggets led from start-to-finish, there was never a question who was coming away with the victory.

The demeanor around the team felt much different as well. From the opening tip, you could tell who was in charge and who was going to win the game. That is something the Nuggets have struggled with the past few seasons and it is one of the biggest reasons why they missed the playoffs by one game two seasons in a row.

If the Nuggets are able to take care of business against teams they should, it will put them in much better shape come April.