Nuggets pull away from Raptors in double-digit win, as Clippers loom

On the second night of a back-to-back, against a non-conference opponent, and with a critical game against the Los Angeles Clippers looming this weekend, it would have been easy to rest some overworked starters and live with what legendary Spurs coach Gregg Popovich calls a “schedule loss.”

That’s not how these Nuggets roll.

Instead, Denver had seven different players score in double digits and managed to get MVP candidate Nikola Jokic the entire fourth quarter off thanks to a 31-8 run that put the game away for the Nuggets. Jokic still had 19 points and 11 rebounds in the three quarters he played, good enough for his 53rd double-double of the season and praise from his head coach.

“He’s a tough cookie. He doesn’t want to take a night off,” Michael Malone said. “He takes tremendous pride in his Serbian heritage. As he always says, ‘Serbian guys don’t sit out,’ which I respect the hell out of, but you have to be smart about it.”

The rest was important, especially with a game in L.A. that will decide who holds the Western Conference’s third-place spot, and according to Michael Porter Jr., it’s exactly where the streaking Nuggets want to be.

“This is the point you want to be at. Nine, 10 games until playoffs, so this is the fun. We have to make sure we’re in prime-time shape and ready to go once the playoffs start.”

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NEXT UP: Nuggets (42-21) at Clippers (43-21) | Saturday, May 1 at 8:00 p.m.

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NOTES

• Head coach Michael Malone learned the 300th win of his NBA coaching career Thursday; 261 of those have come with the Nuggets, and 39 came with the Kings from 2013-15. The team doused Malone with water in the locker room to celebrate; leaving the coach visibly damp in his postgame Zoom press conference.

• Michael Porter Jr. scored 23 points on 8-of-19 shooting (42.1 percent), marking what now passes as a down night for the Nuggets’ rising star. In his last 10 games, Porter’s averaging 25.5 points while shooting 56.7 percent from the field.

• JaMychal Green was a DNP-CD on Wednesday night, but he didn’t look rusty on Thursday, pouring in 15 points with an efficient, 6-for-9 shooting performance, added five rebounds and was plus-19 on the night.

• Shaquille Harrison has made the most in his time with the Nuggets. In Thursday’s win, he scored a season-high 11 points and grabbed five rebounds in only 18 minutes on the floor.

• Aaron Gordon, who nine points to go along with seven rebounds, four assists and a block in Thursday’s win, might be catching the Clippers’ Paul George at the right time on Saturday. With Kawhi Leonard questionable for the game with a foot injury, Gordon may spend significant time guarding the slumping George, who’s shooting only 36.8 percent over his last 10 games.

• With a win over the Clippers on Saturday, the Nuggets would slip past Los Angeles and into third place in the Western Conference. The last time they played, Jamal Murray scored 23 points in Denver’s 101-94 win. Even though the Nuggets are now 8-1 without Murray following his season-ending ACL injury, knocking off the Clippers will take a monumental effort.

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THE FINAL WORD

“I wasn’t even aware. I’m not one of those guys. I had no idea that tonight was my 300th win. I don’t get caught up in that.” — Michael Malone.

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ROTATION (MINUTES)

Starters:
G Facundo Campazzo (29)
G-F P.J. Dozier (28)
F Michael Porter Jr. (35)
F Aaron Gordon (24)
C Nikola Jokic (28)

Bench
G Austin Rivers (27)
F JaMychal Green (21)
G Shaquille Harrison (18)
F Paul Millsap (17)
F Bol Bol (4)
F Vlatko Cancar (3)
G Markus Howard (3)
F Zeke Nnaji (3)
C JaVale McGee (DNP-CD)

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INJURY WATCH

• Will Barton (hamstring) was injured on Apr. 23. Coach Michael Malone said Barton will be out “for the foreseeable future” on Apr. 24. It seems unlikely that he will be available until the playoffs, at the earliest.
• Monte Morris (hamstring) was injured on Apr. 16 and his return date is uncertain.
• Jamal Murray (torn left ACL) was injured in the final minute of the Apr. 12 game. His season is over, and realistically, Murray will be out until at least the 2022 All-Star break.

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Shawn Drotar is the host of “The Fan Late Night with Shawn Drotar;” weeknights from 10:00 p.m. to midnight — only on 104.3 The Fan. Follow him on Twitter at @sdrotar.

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