Back in the eighth seed, Nuggets look for statement win versus Spurs

With Nikola Jokic returning to the starting lineup for Denver against Milwaukee, the Nuggets regained sole control of the eighth seed in the Western Conference but now have the difficult task of taking on the Spurs to continue their pursuit of the playoffs. The Nuggets are playing their second game of a back-to-back while the Spurs are finishing up a four game home-stand.

Regular season game No. 50 | Denver Nuggets (22-27) vs San Antonio Spurs (38-11)

AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas  | 7:00 PM MST | TV: Altitude

Spotlight on Jokic

It seems there is only one feasible way for the Nuggets to come away with a victory in San Antonio, and it’s on the back of Jokic. After missing three games with a hip flexor strain after a scary fall against Phoenix, Jokic returned to the Nuggets starting lineup against the Milwaukee Bucks and led Denver to a much-needed victory in front of a raucous crowd at the Pepsi Center and recorded his first career triple-double; 20 points 13 rebounds and 11 assists.

In the last matchup with the Spurs, it was Jokic who put up 14-straight points in the fourth quarter that brought the Nuggets back from down 14 points to being down just eight and within striking distance of arguably the second best team in all of basketball. Jokic has consistently shown no fear and goes after whoever is in front of him. The Spurs had no answer for him in the last meeting in which he put up a gaudy 35 points on 22 shots to go with 12 rebounds and four assists.

Jokic is casually putting up 18.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, and three assists in six games against the Spurs over the last two years. The Nuggets will need another herculean performance from their star center if they hope to secure a statement win on the second night of a back to back.

Footnotes

Darrell Arthur will sit out tonight’s game and rest on the second night of a back-to-back. Arthur’s arthritic knee gets inflamed when he pushes it too far and he has said that the only true remedy is rest. Malone wants to monitor him more closely and limit him in terms of how much work he puts in so rest in these situations should continue all year.

Danilo Gallinari will miss his second straight game with a groin strain that is known to not be too severe. The Nuggets still expect him back soon.