If Nikola Jokic plays, Denver’s franchise centerpiece is going to play.
The NBA’s MVP favorite had no interest in taking Friday’s game, the second night of a back-to-back, off. Instead, he racked up his 16th triple-double of the year in Denver’s 104-91 win over the Pistons.
“(Coach) asked me yesterday,” Jokic said. “(I said) ‘I’m just gonna play.’ He can decide how many minutes, but I just want to be out there and available for the team.”
The win kept the pressure on the Clippers, who started the night as the No. 3 seed and just one game ahead of the Nuggets in the standings.
Denver owns the tiebreaker over Los Angeles, which could come into play depending on the results of the Nuggets’ season finale at Portland on Sunday.
The win also gave the Nuggets their 22nd road win of the season, which tied a franchise record.
After securing his 20-point, 15-rebound, 11-assist triple-double in 26 minutes, Jokic had the luxury of resting the whole fourth quarter.
“The conversation was, ‘He’s going to play today,'” Nuggets coach Michael Malone joked. “It was pretty straightforward. But we’re going to try to limit his minutes … No reason to play him into the 30s or anything like that.”
The team’s other high scorer, rookie Markus Howard, got to play out his first-ever NBA start. Howard had a career-high 20 points in 33 minutes.
“I’m just happy we got the win,” Howard said. “That’s what matters, especially this time of year.”
His extended run was, in part, because Facu Campazzo, Aaron Gordon and Paul Millsap all rested Friday night.
Jokic and Howard continued to exchange buckets in the third quarter, as the Nuggets extended their lead to double-digits. Howard drove to the hoop with a fearless aggression, while Jokic rocked his defenders to sleep with soft jumpers. Both scorers were later supplemented by 3-pointers from Austin Rivers and Michael Porter Jr.
And once the starters checked out, it was the reserves, led by Flint natives Monte Morris and JaVale McGee, who forged an 87-74 lead heading into the fourth.
Morris played after resting the first game of Denver’s back-to-back, which came only a few days since his return from a hamstring strain. Both Michigan natives added a scoring punch off the bench that might prove useful in the postseason.
Malone didn’t mince words about his expectations for Friday’s approach.
“Come out, play good basketball, stay healthy and obviously, if we can get the win, that’s great,” Malone said. “Going into postseason, you want to be playing good basketball, creating good habits.”
He was particularly proud of his team’s locker room given that the entire team celebrated Vlatko Cancar and Howard’s career-nights from Thursday.
“You have veterans, guys that have won championships, guys that have been here for a long time, who are genuinely and truly excited for Markus Howard and Vlatko Cancar,” Malone said. “That doesn’t happen. I’ve been around the league a long time. A lot of guys are so self-absorbed, they don’t really take the time to share in other people’s joys. And for us, we continue to do that.”
It’s one of the reasons they’ve continued to thrive despite myriad injuries to numerous key players.
Evidently allergic to rest, Jokic went to work in the first half against Detroit. He logged 13 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, drawing barely any resistance from the Pistons’ frontcourt. His superlative half helped build the Nuggets a 57-53 lead at the break.
But Howard was equally as impressive. In his first start, the rookie hunted his shot like a seasoned veteran. He poured in 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting, connecting on all manner of floaters and 3-pointers.
Even without many of their typical rotation players, the Nuggets continued to pass and cut as if everyone was available. Their 18 first-half assists were encouraging after issuing 30 in Thursday’s win over Minnesota.
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Nikola Jokic’s triple-double leads Nuggets over Pistons, tying franchise record for road wins - The Denver Post
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