Nuggets could be down another starter against Wizards

The Denver Nuggets could be without two starters in a must-win game against the Washington Wizards on Friday.

Shooting guard Gary Harris will not play in a fourth consecutive game after spraining his right knee last week. It’s also possible Denver is missing Paul Millsap, who is questionable with an illness. Millsap popped up on the Nuggets’ injury report Friday morning.

Millsap is coming off one of his best games of the season. He needed only nine shots to score 22 points against the Bulls on Wednesday. He also grabbed eight rebounds and collected five steals in that game, which the Nuggets won 135-102.

It’s unclear how Nuggets coach Michael Malone will rejigger his lineups if Millsap is unavailable. Will Barton has started in Gary Harris’ place at shooting guard. Malone could slide Wilson Chandler over to power forward, plug Trey Lyles into the starting lineup or go with a super-sized front court that features Mason Plumlee next to Nikola Jokic.

The Nuggets are two games behind the Utah Jazz for the final Western Conference playoff spot with 10 games to go.