"Is Sparky coming too?" Nuggets will be well represented in All-Star game with win tonight

Michael Malone was forced to field questions about his job security following the disappointing end to Denver’s 2017-18 season, where the Nuggets missed out on the playoffs by one game for the second consecutive year. Ten months later, Malone could be coaching in the All-Star game.

Denver needs to win tonight in Minnesota on the second night of a back-to-back 24 hours after an emotional victory over Houston at Pepsi Center to clinch the best record in the Western Conference for games played through Feb. 3. If the Nuggets beat the Timberwolves this evening, Malone will coach Team LeBron in the All-Star Game Feb. 17 in Charlotte. Malone and his staff could also clinch the All-Star berth if the Warriors lose tonight at home against the Lakers.

It would be a fitting conclusion to the Nuggets’ surprising pre-All-Star break run, where Denver has beaten every team in the West on its way to a 36-15 record heading into Saturday’s matchup.

The Nuggets clinched their 36th victory of the year Friday with a 136-112 win over the Rockets, who Denver had previously lost to nine times straight. The Nuggets, who have already had the most games lost in the league to injury this season, were without their starting backcourt of Jamal Murray and Gary Harris but got big-time performances from Monte Morris (18 points, six rebounds, eight assists), Malik Beasley (35 points, 5 of 9 three-point shooting) and Nikola Jokic, who had one of his better games of the season and tallied 31 points on 12-15 shooting, six rebounds and eight assists.

Denver didn’t reach 36 wins until March 9 last season. Two years ago, the Nuggets didn’t crack that threshold until April 2. In Malone’s first year on the job, Denver went 33-49.

A talented roster — headlined by Nikola Jokic, who was selected to his first All-Star game as a reserve Thursday — unmatched chemistry and a rare amount of continuity in today’s NBA has fueled Denver’s rise. The Nuggets returned 78 percent of their minutes from last season. But Denver also returned most of its coaching staff. Malone’s voice has been a constant since this iteration of the Nuggets began more than three years ago.

“We have a very connected group, and I think people will say we’re connected because of the winning. I think we’re winning because we’re connected and we care about each other and we truly are a selfless group,” Malone said. “The continuity, being together, not going out and signing a bunch of free agents. We signed our own guys because we wanted to bring our own guys back because we knew, Tim (Connelly) and I and Josh (Kroenke), we knew we had the makings of something really really special this year and more importantly into the future.”

Nuggets players would want nothing more than to see their coach, who’s a leading candidate for Coach of the Year, roam the sidelines during the All-Star Game in two weeks and get the recognition he deserves for Denver’s season.

When asked about those prospects after the Nuggets’ win over the Rockets, Jokic was curious if Denver’s entire staff, including his pregame ping-pong partner, would attend.

“Is Sparky coming too? I think it is going to be fun if he comes,” Jokic said, speaking about Nuggets longtime equipment manager Sparky Gonzalez. “I think that (would be) really good for the organization.”