A pair of teams in the thick of the Western Conference playoff picture take the floor in search of a win in the Lone Star State. The Denver Nuggets are on the road as they travel to face the Dallas Mavericks Friday night. Denver comes in off a 106-103 home loss to the Knicks Wednesday night in their previous contest, losing outright as a two-point favorite. Dallas fell 101-92 at home to Houston in the second game of a back-to-back situation Wednesday night, losing outright as a 6.5-point favorite. In the all-time regular season series between the teams, the Mavericks own a 94-88 advantage and have won two straight meetings. That includes a 103-89 home triumph in the most recent meeting on January 3, 2022.
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Denver had won five of their previous six games but couldn’t defend their home floor against a Knicks team playing the second game of a back-to-back set Wednesday night, losing at home to New York for the first time since November 8, 2006. The Nuggets fell to 9-5 on the season and entered Thursday tied for second in the Northwest Division, one game behind the Trail Blazers for the top spot. Against New York, Denver trailed by three after the opening quarter and by one at the half before taking a four-point lead after three quarters. The Nuggets opened up a 10-point lead with 8:44 to play in the game before going cold. Denver was outscored 20-7 the rest of the way to end up with the loss. The Nuggets shot 43.9% from the field, including 14 of 38 from three-point range, and turned the ball over 15 times in the contest. Bones Hyland (seven rebounds) and Jamal Murray (nine rebounds, six assists) each had 21 points to lead the way in the loss.
On the year, Denver is 8th in the league in scoring offense with an average of 116.1 points per game this season. The Nuggets are 17th in rebounding by collecting 44.1 boards per contest while they are 5th by dishing out an average of 28.1 assists a night. Denver stands 19th in scoring defense as they give up an average of 114.1 points a night. Nikola Jokic is leading the team in scoring with 20.8 points, 9.5 rebounds and 8.9 assists a night this season. Jamal Murray (16.5 points, 4.5 assists), Aaron Gordon (14.5 points, 6.8 rebounds), Michael Porter Jr. (17 points, 6.2 rebounds) and Bones Hyland (14.7 points, 3.5 assists) each are solid scoring options. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (11.9 points), Bruce Brown (10.1 points), Jeff Green, DeAndre Jordan and Christian Braun are among the other players that coach Michael Malone calls on in the rotation. The Nuggets are 1st in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 50% from the floor. Denver is 7th as they connect on 13.2 three-pointers a night while the team is 1st as they knock down 41.9% of their attempts from beyond the arc.
Collin Gillespie (leg) remains out indefinitely after having surgery to repair a broken leg. Ish Smith (calf), Aaron Gordon (illness) and Nikola Jokic (health and safety protocols) all missed Wednesday’s game. Smith hasn’t played since October 30 while Malone said Thursday he doesn’t expect Jokic or Gordon to be ready for this contest. Watch for any updates on their statuses leading into tip-off.
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