The Denver Nuggets avoided a letdown against the Utah Jazz on Saturday night and will have to avoid complacency Monday night when they host the slumping Toronto Raptors.
Denver beat Utah 142-121 two nights after a tense win over Boston, but Saturday didn't come without some hand-wringing. The Nuggets allowed just 44 points in the first half while building a 39-point lead but then gave up 44 points in the third quarter to give the Jazz some hope.
The Nuggets recovered in time to get their eighth win in nine games and heed a warning at the same time.
"I am never going to be disappointed with a win -- this is a wins-and-loss business so we got a win at a very pivotal point of the year -- but I am not just going to accept how we played," Denver coach Michael Malone said after Saturday night's game. "We have to be better. We have to hold ourselves to a much higher standard."
The Nuggets have flipped a switch since the All-Star break to get into a tight race for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, but they are entering a tough part of the schedule. They play at Miami on Wednesday, then come home to face San Antonio but hit the road again to play Dallas and Minnesota.
That puts more importance on beating a Toronto team that has lost five of its past six games and is playing short-handed. Center Jakob Poeltl, who would have taken some of the responsibility of guarding Nikola Jokic on Monday, is out indefinitely after surgery on his left pinkie. Scottie Barnes also had hand surgery and is unavailable.
Bruce Brown, who helped Denver win the title last season, has missed the last four games with a knee injury and is unlikely to play Monday night. And RJ Barrett was scratched from the lineup before Saturday's overtime loss at Portland with an illness but could return for the game against the Nuggets.
Even with a depleted lineup, the Raptors clawed back to force overtime against the Trail Blazers before running out of steam.
"Offensively I thought Portland brought a lot of physicality and as the game was progressing, we were trying to figure out how to play against that physicality," Toronto coach Darko Rajakovic said after the 128-118 loss.
Without Poeltl, the Raptors used a small-ball lineup, but that might be problematic against Denver's big frontcourt that uses Michael Porter Jr. (6-foot-10), Aaron Gordon (6-foot-8) and Jokic (6-foot-11).
Jokic has been bothered by a sore right elbow, but it hasn't impacted his play. He is averaging a triple-double over his last 10 games while getting plenty of help. Porter is averaging 20.1 points and 7.3 rebounds over the same span, and Gordon has played big in wins over the Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers.
The Nuggets are also getting more production from their bench, with second-year players Peyton Watson and Christian Braun making significant impacts since the All-Star break and guard Reggie Jackson working his way out of a slump.
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