DENVER — It didn’t matter that the No. 1 seed had long been sealed, or that all of Denver’s normal starters were in street clothes on Sunday afternoon.
The Nuggets needed a win, to snap a three-game losing streak, to establish something positive ahead of the postseason, or, at minimum, because fans packed Ball Arena for another sellout crowd. Against the No. 3 seed Kings, who played their starters for the first half, Denver found its mojo again in the regular season finale. The Nuggets’ 109-95 win was an emphatic defensive statement by players who might not see the court in the postseason.
Fortunately, the next time Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr. and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope see the floor, the playoffs will be here. Who Denver will face won’t be determined until the end of this week’s play-in tournament.
But on Sunday, next week’s opponent was far from their minds. What mattered was erasing the stench of a rotten road trip.
Bruce Brown powered the offense with 21 points, and Zeke Nnaji added 18 points. As a unit, Denver hammered Sacramento for 62 points in the paint.
All five Kings starters finished with double-digits, including De’Aaron Fox with 13 points. But their absence in the second half helped the Nuggets dominate the final two quarters. The Kings scored 28 points, total, after halftime.
During a timeout a few minutes into the third quarter, Jokic emerged from the back tunnel wearing a dapper brown suit and plopped himself on the home bench. All the regular starters, at some point during Sunday’s game, were there to watch the reserves play out the season. His timing, as usual, was perfect.
As soon as he sat down, he saw Brown pick Kevin Huerter’s pocket and dashed the other way for a bucket. Not long after, he was treated to an alley-oop jam by his replacement, DeAndre Jordan. Behind Brown’s punishing drives and a stingy, connected defense backed by Jordan, Sunday’s default starters reeled off a 19-11 run to tie the game. Little-used Reggie Jackson knocked down two more baskets, and the Nuggets carried an improbable 83-81 lead going into the fourth.
Immaterial to who was available the last week and a half, Nuggets coach Michael Malone was displeased with how his team ended its final road trip.
“To be 1-5 in your last 6 games at this point in the season is not ideal,” Malone said before the game. “I know some people can say, ‘Well, Nikola (Jokic) missed how many of those games?'(Saturday), in the second and third quarter, our starters dominated. We didn’t close with our starters. B.S., man. We’re 1-5, black and white.
“So, yes, no matter who plays for us tonight, losing (stinks),” he continued.
Despite a 43-point first quarter for Sacramento, Malone had to be pleased with how his team responded. Playing against a full-strength team, Denver’s reserves held their own, trailing just 67-59 heading into the break.
Four Nuggets reached double-digits in scoring – Watson, Brown, Vlatko Cancar and Nnaji – in the first half as Denver’s offense managed to establish some identity without its regulars. Most of their damage came inside, via 34 points in the paint.
It may have been an important stretch for Nnaji, who buried two 3-pointers, and who’s likely on the fringes of the playoff rotation. Watson, who finds himself in a similar position, flashed on several occasions and further cemented his argument for postseason playing time. His two-way capability was evident both on hard drives to the basket and one impressive swat against Fox, Sacramento’s speedy guard.
