Written by Candace Buckner at Washington Post.com
The Washington Wizards had not developed much of a three-point shooting identity through their first two games, but in a 109-104 win Monday night over the Denver Nuggets, the shots kept coming.
The Wizards took a season high 30 attempts from beyond the arc, making nine. It was early in the fourth quarter when Jodie Meeks, who pulls up as fast and as frequent from downtown as anyone on the roster, took a pass in transition from Tim Frazier and quickly turned it into a triple. Before jogging back on defense, Meeks spun toward the courtside fans and flashed three fingers.
That celebration aside, the Wizards (3-0) offered a refreshing change of pace for a team that had averaged the second fewest three-point attempts in the NBA before Monday night. Through the latter stages of the game, the Wizards remained in control while capitalizing on the mistake-prone Nuggets. Washington scored 29 points off 24 turnovers — the sloppiness muted Denver’s 41 bench points as well as a strong game from center Nikola Jokic, who led all scorers with 29 points.
However, with 32.2 seconds remaining in two-point game, Jokic was involved in an odd play, bumping into Coach Scott Brooks as he walked off the court. Brooks, who absorbed the shoulder contact and threw his hands in the air, immediately complained to referees. Jokic was assessed a technical foul for the “intentional” bump, according to referee Derrick Stafford.
Every Wizards starter reached double figures, including Otto Porter Jr., who made a pair of clutch free throws with 1:14 remaining to pad Washington’s lead to five points. Porter was 3 of 6 from beyond the arc and recorded his first double-double of the season (15 points, 10 rebounds).
