Nikola Jokic’s day off worked wonders.
After missing just his second game this season in a loss at Oklahoma City, Jokic returned with a vengeance to shepherd the Nuggets to a 120-108 win over the Trail Blazers on Friday night. It was the first half of a two-game series at Ball Arena between the Western Conference foes, with a rematch on Sunday.
For the second time this week, Jokic had a triple-double by the end of the third quarter. He amassed 27 points, 22 rebounds, 12 assists and two blocks to carry the Nuggets (34-16) when Jamal Murray was cold and the second unit couldn’t last two minutes without giving up a Portland run.
Murray shot just 5-for-21 from the field for 13 points, but he still came within one rebound of his own unusual triple-double. Offensively, his teammates picked him up. All five starters scored in double figures, as well as two bench players.
When Denver desperately needed a spark in the non-Jokic minutes, Peyton Watson delivered. He scored 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter after the lead was trimmed to five, capped off by a corner 3-pointer to force a Chauncey Billups timeout and usher Jokic back into a 103-93 game. Aaron Gordon had 18 points on nine shots. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 16 on eight.
The two-time MVP was out due to lower back pain in Oklahoma City, but he participated in the Nuggets’ shootaround Friday morning and had no issue turning up his activity at the defensive end as soon as the game started. Jokic was deflecting passes, blocking shots, closing out. He was looking to throw the touchdown outlet pass every time he pulled in a rebound, leading to a couple of hockey assists, and his distributing in the half-court was equally saucy. On multiple occasions, he completed volleyball-style touch passes but wasn’t rewarded with assists.
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Caldwell-Pope apologized after failing to cash in on a corner three created by one of those passes. “My bad, Jok,” he mouthed, even though he had drawn a foul on the miss to earn three points.
Caldwell-Pope went to the bench to have his right hand treated late in the fourth quarter after an impressive defensive possession. He didn’t return with the Nuggets up double digits. Justin Holiday, who was already playing rotation minutes, finished the game.
After 13 consecutive inactive games, rookie Julian Strawther was available off the bench for the first time since Jan. 4 at Golden State. Strawther, who has been out with a right knee contusion and sprain, didn’t end up playing even though he was cleared. Malone anticipated that would be the case before opening tip, saying the Nuggets plan to assign Strawther to the Grand Rapids Gold for a brief stay.
“He’s been playing some small side games against the coaches, a few of the other players. But I think this is why you have a G League team,” Malone said. “We may use the G League to try to send him down there, get some practices, maybe get a game in. Just kind of get that game feel, if that makes any sense, before bringing him back. But I talked to him this morning. He’s feeling really good. He’s excited to be back in a uniform.”
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