The Denver Nuggets are sitting five games over .500, a pace well off what they’ve accomplished the last few years, but it is also an encouraging sign.
Denver has played all year without its second-best player in Jamal Murray and most of the season without its third-best in Michael Porter Jr. Both are out with injuries, and the team has been on the road for a majority of its schedule.
The Nuggets have played 29 of their 51 games away from home, but now they get a chance to spend a few days in their own beds. They start a three-game homestand Friday night against the New Orleans Pelicans, and figure to have star Nikola Jokic back.
Jokic (right toe soreness) and Aaron Gordon (left hamstring tightness) sat out Wednesday night’s loss at Utah, but the good news was that their injuries weren’t serious.
Denver is coming off a six-game road trip that ended with losses to Minnesota and the Jazz on consecutive nights. They won the first four games of the trip, including quality victories against Brooklyn and Milwaukee.
The Nuggets might have had a better chance had they not played Utah on the second of a back-to-back set. The Jazz swept the four games between the teams, with three of those wins coming after Denver played the night before.
It rankled coach Michael Malone, whose team nearly pulled out the win Wednesday despite missing the reigning MVP.
“The last couple of days is what the NBA’s all about,” he said. “You go from the euphoria of a great win in Milwaukee where you play great basketball and then two days later, you talk about the agony of defeat, getting your butts kicked in Minnesota. … As has happened three different occasions this year, we’re getting the Jazz on the second night of a back-to-back, and they’re just hanging out waiting for us.”
The Nuggets and the Pelicans will be rested for a rematch of their game played in New Orleans on Jan. 28. Denver took that game, 116-105, in the midst of a four-game skid for the Pelicans. They ended that losing streak with a win at Detroit on Tuesday night.
Brandon Ingram had 26 points in the win, which kept New Orleans close in the hunt for one of the Western Conference play-in spots. The Pelicans are 1 1/2 games behind the Portland Trail Blazers for the last spot despite the recent skid.
“What I like about this team is that we are trying to get better every night,” Ingram said after the 111-101 win over the Pistons. “No matter what we’re going through, we’re taking it in and learning from it.”
Josh Hart missed the win with a knee injury and is questionable for Friday’s game.
If Jokic can play as expected, he will be battling Jonas Valanciunas most of the night. Valanciunas has held his own against Jokic in their matchups, going back to his time with Toronto and Memphis. In his last seven games he is averaging 16.6 points and 11.3 rebounds.
He did not play in the loss last week but did score 27 in an overtime loss to Denver on Dec. 8.
