The win Thursday night over the Portland Trail Blazers was big for the Denver Nuggets in more ways than one. Not only did they cruise to a comfortable 132-120 victory over the team they’re chasing for the No. 8 spot in the conference, they now have two wins in their last three games. Denver was 3-7 over their last 10 entering the game. Most importantly, they returned a key player and moved two of their best performers on the season into starting roles.
Gary Harris made an immediate impact in his return from a month-long foot injury. The 6-foot-4 shooting guard scored 18 points in 32 minutes in his first action since Nov. 12. He was a plus-13 on the night, second only to Nikola Jokic‘s plus-15.
Jokic was a major factor as well with 13 points, four rebounds and five assists. Jokic returned to the starting lineup after being relegated to a bench role, despite being Michael Malone’s most efficient player (among those averaging more than five minutes per game). Wilson Chandler, Denver’s top scorer, also moved into a starting role and scored 17 points and added eight rebounds in the win. Danilo Gallinari led the Nuggets with 27 points.
Ball movement and security was vastly improved for Denver in this one, as they recorded 27 team assists and just 15 turnovers. In their 20-point loss to the last-place Mavericks on Dec. 12 those numbers were 19 and 16. Denver will still need to cut down on the turnovers, but their distribution with the new rotation is something to build upon as they try and chase down Portland for the final playoff spot.
