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

By public-address decree, patrons of Ball Arena are prohibited from sitting down until the home team scores its first points. They were left standing and stewing in awkward silence during an early Michael Malone timeout three minutes into an unusual Nuggets game on Wednesday night.

The rest of the night wasn’t so bleak, but the ominous start did accurately forecast the result. 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 a 12-day stay in third place in the Western Conference. They have slid into fourth behind the Lakers with five games to go.

“That’s two games in a row where you hate saying, ‘Man, we played hard tonight.’ That should be a given,” Malone said. “But I’m proud of the effort. A lot of guys I hadn’t played rotation minutes got a chance tonight.”

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 spearheaded a commendable 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.

“I wish it would have come in a win, as does Jalen, but he put on a really special performance,” Malone said.

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. After Westbrook badly missed a transition layup that would have tied the game at 101 with under five minutes remaining, San Antonio scored at the other end to establish a cushion.

Malone said that he spoke to Westbrook about the possibility of giving him the game off as well, but the veteran guard wasn’t having it. He has played 78 minutes in a two-day span.

“I was not at all surprised when he said, ‘What? I’m playing, man,’” Malone said. “… I told him after the game tonight how much I appreciated him, because I know a lot of guys, a lot of guys would have seen who was out and taken the easy way. That’s not in Russell Westbrook’s DNA.”

In Jokic’s case, Malone left no wiggle room for debate. He approached the star center late Tuesday to inform him that he wouldn’t 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.”