Hornets at Nuggets
Nikola Jokic's return to form as a budding star is putting the Denver Nuggets back in the win column and helping the team hold off a host of challengers for the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference. Jokic will attempt to post his third straight triple-double when the Nuggets host the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday.
Jokic came out of the All-Star break slow, totaling 16 points in three games, but led Denver to a pair of road wins at Chicago and Milwaukee this week by recording back-to-back triple-doubles. “Back-to-back wins. That’s the better thing, to be honest,” Jokic told reporters after Wednesday's 110-98 win over the Bucks. "I think we stopped (All-Star forward Giannis) Antetokounmpo in the first half, and that’s why we had such a large lead. We relaxed a bit and they got back in it, but we finished well at the end." Denver will play seven of its next eight at home as it tries to extend a 2 1/2-game lead over the Portland Trail Blazers for the No. 8 spot, beginning with a date against a Hornets squad that was ripped by the lottery-bound Phoenix Suns 120-103 on Thursday. Charlotte lost 14 of its last 17 games and is stumbling into the finale of a seven-game road trip that began before the All-Star break.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FSN Southeast (Charlotte), Altitude (Denver)
ABOUT THE HORNETS (26-35): Charlotte appeared to be moving in the right direction with two wins and two overtime losses in the first four games after the break but allowed the Suns to shoot 59.7 percent from the floor in Thursday's setback. "We just couldn’t stop them at all from the beginning of the game until all the way through," Hornets coach Steve Clifford told reporters. "We never got them under control. Penetration, transition - we let them play to their strengths. We had about three or four guys who put a lot into the game and did a good job, but again, you got to have everybody. Our individual defense just (wasn’t) anywhere where it needed to be." The Hornets were outscored in the paint (60-36) and on the fast break (29-10) in the loss.
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (28-33): Jokic is getting some offensive support from small forward Danilo Gallinari, who sat out the eight games before the break to rest a groin injury and shook off the rust by averaging 20.6 points on 54.2 percent shooting in the last five contests. Gallinari scored a team-high 22 points in the win at Milwaukee to lead all five starters in double figures. “It was a great back-to-back for us,” Gallinari told reporters. "It’s very important for us if we want to make this playoff push. I’m very happy we won these two games on the road."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Nuggets SG Gary Harris is averaging 19.2 points since the All-Star break - up from a season mark of 14.2.
2. Charlotte PF Marvin Williams is 7-of-10 from 3-point range in the last two games.
3. Denver took both meetings last season.