Nuggets’ first back-to-back of season, without Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon, reveals possible template

No matter who plays the Nuggets look clinical Even in their first back-to-back of the season even without their second- and third-best players the Nuggets cruised to a - win over the depleted Indiana Pacers on Saturday Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon were both out but Denver - completed a perfect four-game home stand anyway with contributions across the board Nikola Jokic overcame eight turnovers with points rebounds and assists Peyton Watson amassed points seven boards and three steals filling in as a starter Tim Hardaway Jr stayed hot off the bench with a -point night The Nuggets are now - at home this season and haven t trailed in the second half of a championship at Ball Arena Murray has been dealing with off-and-on calf tightness for the last week Gordon s official injury designation was left hamstring management Their absence was largely precautionary with Denver playing on hours of rest for the first time If you feel something that you know could turn into something worse I think there is a little bit of apprehension David Adelman commented of Gordon popping up on the organization s injury statement But he had certain explosive plays last night And Aaron s a guy we have to protect in that sense just because there s just not that countless human beings that are that big can jump that high can explode like that Gordon still managed to explode off the bench enough to pick up a technical foul in street clothes while trying to defend Jalen Pickett s honor to the agents It happened early in the third quarter The Pacers had already whittled a -point deficit to nine before halftime Then they capitalized on the technical with a four-point possession narrowing Denver s lead to - Nonetheless Ball Arena applauded Gordon backing up a teammate Pickett was Murray s replacement in the starting lineup despite having spent Denver s first eight games outside of the rotation entirely He Julian Strawther and two-way wing Spencer Jones stepped in as Adelman went beyond the usual ranks to play a -man rotation That could be a common strategy this season if the Nuggets sit starters in future back-to-backs I do think it opens up your mind more to a longer rotation he disclosed That doesn t mean it ll happen But the conversations are a lot deeper about who can play who fits this tournament that maybe hasn t been in the rotation as much as opposed to a meeting like last night The Warriors beat us one time We had to get that win for the season series so maybe you shorten your rotation a little bit The second night of a back-to-back is very different Jones and Watson combined for an extraordinary defensive night against Eastern Conference Finals MVP Pascal Siakam With Tyrese Haliburton out for the year Siakam has assumed a larger offensive role for Indiana He was held to a -for- first half and total points by the end of the evening Related Articles Nuggets Journal Nikola Jokic is scoring less Why that s good for Denver David Adelman Nuggets stand by Cam Johnson amid slow start Who really cares if we re winning Jonas Valanciunas Nuggets amend non-guaranteed last year of contract sources say Nuggets Tim Hardaway Jr microwaving opponents as spark off bench Nikola Jokic dominates in win over Heat without Bam Adebayo Denver stays perfect at home The Nuggets slowly rebuilt their double-digit lead after the brief comeback scare Somehow they compiled third-quarter points despite facing an Indiana defense that made them work for all feet Cam Johnson broke the press with a blow-by in the backcourt that he turned into a circus and-one bucket He went for points four assists and no turnovers turning the corner and getting downhill effectively on dribble handoffs Strawther also turned in productive second-half minutes at both ends of the floor He finished the night with points six boards and two assists scoring without his -ball Strawther Hardaway Jones and Bruce Brown were all stars in the plus-minus column they were responsible for a - run to end the first quarter followed by another productive stint with Jonas Valanciunas as their center