The Denver Nuggets had one goal, and one goal only, going into their massive matchup with the Minnesota Timberwolves: win.
Everything seemed to be going against the Nuggets. Their offense was sputtering, they were turning the ball over, getting beaten up on the glass, and the Timberwolves had transformed the pace of the game into a slow grind-it-out affair.
Then, the Nuggets’ hope was restored by an unlikely hero.
Devin Harris — whom the Nuggets acquired in the final few hours the trade deadline in a three-team deal that netted the New York Knicks Emmanuel Mudiay while sending Doug McDermott from the Knicks to the Dallas Mavericks — managed to accumulate 20 points on 6-11 shooting and 5-9 from three-point distance as he helped Denver secure a 100-96 win over the Timberwolves, which was the most important and impactful win of the 2017-18 season.
“It was about time he made some shots,” Nikola Jokic jokingly said in front of his locker after the Nuggets’ win over the Timberwolves. “Since he got here he didn’t make one shot. The bench was all pumped up like ‘Woah, he is shooting!’ Then he kept shooting and kept missing them. Oh, Devin. Oh, Devin.”
All joking aside, to say that Harris helped Denver stay alive against the Timberwolves is a drastic understatement. Each time that Denver’s bench entered the game, Minnesota tried to immediately push their lead higher and higher knowing that Denver is weakest with their bench unit in.
Each time the Timberwolves attempted to separate themselves from the Nuggets, there was Harris with a timely three-pointer.
“All of the shots that I took felt great — from this morning until the game tonight,” Harris explained after pouring in 20 points in 20 minutes. “It was one of those zones that you get into where you just let it fly and watch the beauty of it.”
There were two specific moments in which the Nuggets were losing control of the game. At the end of the first quarter with 1:09 remaining, the Timberwolves and a lead of 24-19 and the Nuggets’ offense looked completely discombobulated and rushed. While things seemed bleak for the Nuggets early on, that did not faze Harris in the slightest. He came into the game, Murray hit a layup and Harris followed with a three-pointer to tie the game at 24 with 30 seconds left. Harris then followed up his three-pointer by getting fouled while taking another three with just one single second left on the clock. After Harris hit all three free throws, the Nuggets took a lead of 27-24 into the second quarter on the back of Harris’ 6-0 run.
“I made a couple shots early and just got into a groove,” Harris explained. “From there just tried to find open spots. It was my night to make shots tonight.”
The next big moment where Harris kept the Nuggets afloat was when there was just under two minutes remaining in the third quarter. Denver was down 72-68 and doubt was beginning to creep in…until Harris appeared once again to save the day.
“I saw a former All-Star playing with confidence and the swag he had back then,” Jamal Murray said. “He was just playing; he was just hooping. Guys were getting open and he was making the best of his opportunities.”
Harris rained down three separate three-pointers to help Denver finish the third quarter on an 11-0 run — nine of which came from Harris. Thanks to that massive nine-point swing from Harris, the Nuggets were able to carry a seven-point lead into the fourth quarter that eventually resulted in a four-point victory.
“He stepped into his shots and shot them with confidence,” Mason Plumlee told reporters after the Nuggets’ massive win over the Timberwolves. “He really gave that second unit a big lift.”
Now, with three games remaining and a realistic shot at making the playoffs, the Nuggets will continue to need Harris’ production off of the bench. Every member of the Nuggets will be needed as Denver battles to end their four-year playoff drought, and this is very well known to the Nuggets’ veteran backup point guard.
“Going into this playoff push, it is going to have to be all hands on deck,” Harris explained after the win over Minnesota. “We are going to need everybody ready to play and ready to contribute.”
Barton filled in admirably as the de facto point guard of the bench unit, but at least the Nuggets now know that they can trust someone to handle the ball off of the bench. Harris taking over point guard duties has allowed Barton to begin flourishing as a scorer once again while also allowing Harris to get comfortable with his new team. As Harris gets comfortable, his on-court production is also rising, and Murray thinks he knows why.
“He is just playing free,” Murray explained. “He is hooping here and he is playing with a ton of confidence while taking on a bigger role.”
Now, with a bigger role in hand, the playoffs on the line, and a new franchise, Harris is looking to make the best of his opportunities and, for Denver, that us a very good thing.
“I’m 35 and I am not getting any younger,” Harris explained after what was likely his best game as a member of the Nuggets. “To play meaningful basketball this time of year is why we train so hard in the summer.”
