Nuggets rest entire starting lineup after 2OT loss to Timberwolves, fall short against Spurs

Bennett Durando, The Denver Post on Apr 3, 2025

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DENVER — Attendees at Ball Arena are prohibited by public-address decree from sitting down until the home team scores its first points. They were left standing in awkward silence during an early Michael Malone timeout three minutes into an unusual Nuggets game on Wednesday night.

Denver’s entire starting lineup (and then some) took a desperately needed PTO day, and the San Antonio Spurs held off what was left of the Nuggets, 113-106.

Consider it the cost of doing business after Nikola Jokic played 53 minutes and three other players logged more than 45 in a double-overtime thriller 24 hours earlier.

One problem: The Nuggets didn’t get any return on investment for those minutes Tuesday. So their hard-fought but heartbreaking 140-139 loss turned into two — a calamitous back-to-back ending in a 12-day stay in third place. They have slid into fourth, behind the Lakers in the loss column.

Denver trailed 9-0 at the time of Malone’s timeout and 48-28 early in the second quarter, but the two bench point guards in Malone’s makeshift starting lineup helped lead a respectable comeback. Russell Westbrook bounced back from his decisive blunder against Minnesota by scoring a season-high 30 points and adding 11 rebounds, six assists and three steals. Jalen Pickett displayed his developing ability to read the floor en route to 17 points, 11 boards and 10 assists — his first NBA triple-double.

But Westbrook didn’t score in the fourth quarter, and the Spurs had seven players in double figures by the end of a 25-13 closing run. Harrison Barnes led them with 20 points in the continued absence of Victor Wembanyama.

Malone approached Jokic late Tuesday and informed the star center he would not be playing against San Antonio. The reason was simple. Jokic spent 40 consecutive minutes of game time on the court against Minnesota while scoring a career-high 61 points. “This wasn’t going to be a discussion,” Malone said. “… Sometimes you have to be the coach, whatever you want to call it. And he understood.”

The entire starting lineup joined Jokic on the inactive list, plus Peyton Watson and the already-injured Julian Strawther. Michael Porter Jr. remained away from the team due to an illness in the family, and Jamal Murray continued to sit out with a hamstring injury.

“It’s not going to be easy, obviously, but we have more than enough in that locker room to go out there and beat the Spurs,” Malone said. “We just have to try to do it one possession at a time and rely on some guys that maybe haven’t gotten a lot of minutes this year.”

Hunter Tyson scored 18 points in his second career start, and his effort plays fueled the near-comeback despite an inefficient shooting night. DeAndre Jordan reeled in 17 rebounds in 36 minutes. Vlatko Cancar didn’t fill up the stat sheet, but he put together an impressive stretch between the end of third and beginning of the fourth quarters to help Denver briefly wield a five-point lead.

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