Clunky in the clutch again, the Nuggets managed to survive a late comeback Wednesday night at Ball Arena and went into the All-Star break with a 122-116 win over the Grizzlies.
Nikola Jokic registered his 20th triple-double of the season with 26 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists, though he also was responsible for nine turnovers two days after he committed seven in a loss to Cleveland.
The Nuggets (35-20) got a balanced effort down the roster. Jamal Murray went for 23 points, six rebounds and seven assists. After he and Jokic were honored pregame as NBA All-Stars in a brief ceremony with co-general manager Ben Tenzer, Murray knocked down a pair of free throws to clinch the win with 12 seconds left. Former Nuggets starter Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had missed off the back of the iron on a potential game-tying 3-point attempt moments earlier.
Christian Braun added 14 points, seven boards and six assists. Tim Hardaway Jr. posted a 7-for-8 shooting night off the bench for 21 points and closed the game for the second time this week. Coach David Adelman went with the hot hand on a quiet night for Cam Johnson.
Adelman on Spencer Jones’ contract situation
The Nuggets went into the All-Star break without converting Spencer Jones from a two-way to a standard contract, a delay partially caused by the concussion Jones suffered last week in New York, Adelman admitted Wednesday.
Jones’ salary and cap hit will be prorated for the rest of the season based on the day he signs, meaning the longer Denver’s front office waits to finalize a deal with him, the more money the Nuggets will have under the luxury tax line to pursue someone else for their 15th roster spot.
The 24-year-old wing is ineligible to resume playing until his contract is converted. But Adelman said before opening tip Wednesday that Jones was “still at the end of the concussion protocol” anyway. The injury occurred seven days prior. Jones sat at the end of the home bench in street clothes while Denver started Cam Johnson at the four and continued to rely on four-guard lineups.
“The negotiation that’s going on there obviously is being slow-played because of the concussion,” Adelman said. “So the negotiation, I’ve been updated by Ben (Tenzer) and Jon (Wallace), but it’s slow-moving right now. But the concussion thing is real. Probably have more information after the break. Right now, I think it’s just, let’s get him right and then let Ben and Jon and his agency and his people talk.”
The Nuggets can carry 13 players on their active roster until Feb. 19 at the latest after trading Hunter Tyson in a salary dump on Feb. 5. With that in mind, one league source familiar with the situation told The Denver Post that a contract is unlikely to be finalized until after people get back into town from the break.
No lob threats
Lost amid Denver’s blunders late in a 119-117 loss Monday was a final inbound play that wasn’t executed smoothly. The Nuggets had 0.9 seconds to get a shot up after Donovan Mitchell made a pair of go-ahead free throws. They used a timeout to advance the ball and draw up a play, but it ended with Nikola Jokic catching and shooting a long 2-pointer surrounded by defenders.
Particularly notable was the decision to use Jamal Murray as the inbounder, not as an extra option to receive the pass and take the final shot. Asked about that on Wednesday, Adelman said Murray was the team’s best passer for that situation, and “with 0.9, it was gonna be Nikola just shooting the ball.” He wanted Hardaway Jr. merely as a decoy coming off a screen on the weak side. “Nikola started to go early, like he should, and (the ref) didn’t hand the ball to Jamal, which really screwed up the rhythm,” he said. “One regret I have is I could’ve called my last timeout, set the play back up.”
But while explaining the rationale behind that choice, Adelman also shared a revealing detail about the state of Denver’s roster and the lingering deficiencies caused by injuries. The prayer to Jokic (who generally answers them pretty well) wasn’t even Plan A.
“We have a few lob plays in. The guys were all laughing because as they came to the huddle, I realized that there is no person to throw a lob to right now,” Adelman said. “So I even looked at (Christian Braun) kind of like, ‘Where are you at, man?’ He was kind of, eh. So that changed the intention of the play, which is, OK, well Joker can turn and shoot it. He didn’t get a great look, obviously.”
A fully healthy Braun would’ve been the Nuggets’ best above-the-rim player for the original call, but he didn’t want to gamble the result of the game on an ankle in recovery. Denver’s other two options to catch a lob, Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson, are out with hamstring strains, illuminating the lack of athleticism available right now.
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