Michael Malone pleased with way Nikola Jokic is playing alongside Paul Millsap

DALLAS — Before Denver took on the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday, Nuggets coach Michael Malone implored his star center Nikola Jokic to be more aggressive. Jokic shot the ball a combined 10 times in Paul Millsap’s first two games back after recovering from wrist surgery.

Jokic got up only eight field-goal attempts in Denver’s 126-117 win Saturday, but Malone said the outing represented progress because his team still played through him on the offensive end.

“You still want to see an aggressive Nikola Jokic, but even though his scoring numbers weren’t great in Cleveland, I thought the eight assists, playing through him and making the right play was great to see,” Malone said. 

Denver shot 54.7 percent from the field, knocked down 19 threes and recorded 35 assists in the win. Jokic scored nine points — single-digits for the second game in a row — but he also handed out eight assists and grabbed seven rebounds.

Asked if Jokic should shoot the ball more, Malone said, “Only if he’s open.”

“I thought Nikola did a great job of finding the open man. Now if the ball is swung to him, and he’s open, and he has a matchup in the post, yes, go to work. But what I love about Nikola is that he’s always going to make the right play. If he’s open, he’ll shoot it. If he’s not, he’ll find the guy that is open. Hopefully, we can knock that shot down.”

Jokic’s numbers in February — 21.8 points, 11.3 rebounds and 9.0 assists — were monstrous. Those totals since Millsap returned to the lineup — 12.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists — aren’t nearly as eye-popping.

The Nuggets are 2-1 with Millsap back in the lineup. They’ll try to complete a 3-0 road trip against the Mavericks before returning home Wednesday to face the Cavaliers again.

Millsap has averaged 25.6 minutes per game since he made his return Feb. 27. Malone said he’d like to keep Millsap under the 28-minute benchmark in Dallas.

“I think for him, I think he’s still trying to find his rhythm individually,” Malone said. “What’s great about Paul is that he’s not going to press, he’s not going to force it. He’s going to make the right play. He’s still finding his own rhythm. You see it in flashes. But overall, I think our team is playing at a high level.”