Nikola Jokic’s return refuels the Denver Nuggets in a win against Dallas

Nikola Jokic returned to the lineup after missing the second half against the Utah Jazz this week after banging knees with Rudy Gobert. His presence seemed to fuel the Denver Nuggets as a unit as they all seemed to shoot better, cut harder, and run the floor with purpose. Jokic showed even more toughness after getting hit in the face by Dwight Powell early in the first quarter.

Jokic looked healthy and really seemed intent on getting his teammates involved early and finished the game with 11 points, 16 rebounds, and eight assists in his 25 minutes of play. He ran the floor hard with and without the basketball and it did not seem like the knee (or his face) bothered him at all.

While the team is still struggling as a unit from behind the arc, the Nuggets got a plethora of easy looks in the paint. They finished the game shooting 51.8 percent from the field and 30.6 percent from behind the arc with most of that damage coming during the fourth quarter when the game was out of hand.

Coach Michael Malone wore a microphone for ESPN and it was fun listening to him empowering Monte Morris to command his offense as the starting point guard. Morris had a great game, he was getting to his spots and scoring off the bounce in the midrange. He also seemed to create a ton of space with his handle, getting free with some quick crossovers. Morris even got under Luka Doncic’s skin on the defensive end of the floor and closed out hard on shooters.

Malone also made it clear that he wanted the team wanted to run the break hard.  Jokic made the right outlet passes or pushed the ball up the court himself and his teammates ran with him for easy looks. As a team, they seemed fluid in transition running three-man weaves and getting up and down the court, and consistently had the advantage of running the fast break.

Malone also stressed the importance of taking good shots within the flow of the offense. This was especially important as the Denver Nuggets again struggled with turnovers by trying to force the ball into the paint or making the extra fancy pass. In the first half, they had 11 turnovers and finished the game with 19.

Aaron Gordon might have had his best game of the season, scoring 13 points and grabbing five rebounds. He was efficient and didn’t rush into his looks.

He seemed content on taking what the defense gave him and scored well in the paint. He also played great intense defense on whoever he was asked to defend. He seemed to be switch-hunted a bit by the Mavericks however he made the right plays and got his hands in to affect the offensive player.

He was a monster on the offensive glass, boxing out bigs and allowing Jokic to clean up opportunities around the rim. The pairing of him and Jokic down low is very formidable against smaller teams, especially those who want to run a small ball type offense. Gordon has the ability to essentially take out the small ball center on the offensive glass with his aggression and willingness to stick a body on someone.

The commanding victory gave Malone a chance to empty the benches and gave the Nuggets fans a healthy dose of Nah’Shon ‘Bones’ Hyland and Bol Bol. Hyland got to his shot at all three levels, and knocked down a pair of three-pointers that seemed to take the roof off the place at times! Bones finished the game with six points on 50 percent shooting and created two assists during his eight minutes on the court.

The fans gave thunderous ovations when they checked into the game and were rewarded for staying during the blowout. However, the largest ovation came after Bol Bol ran the fast break with Austin Rivers and was rewarded by a sweet lob. The fans’ desire to see them play stresses how important the fan base believes Hyland and Bol have the potential to be in the next coming years.