Nets' Star Available to Play Against Undermanned Nuggets

The Brooklyn Nets are set to face off against the Denver Nuggets tonight, hoping to slide back into the win column after a skid.

Over the last month, Brooklyn has seen a real turnaround, grabbing seven wins in a 10-game span through December. The defense under head coach Jordi Fernandez took a real step forward, while scorers in Michael Porter Jr., Cam Thomas and a host of rookies continue to find more comfortability.

Despite that, the Nets have reverted somewhat, dropping three-straight games to the Warriors, Rockets and Wizards. Denver still stands as one of the top teams in the West, though they've been bitten by the injury bug hard in recent months, and could offer a bounce-back game for Brooklyn.

Here are the injury reports for both the Nets and Nuggets:

Brooklyn Nets injuries:

Nic Claxton — Out: Personal reasons

Tyson Etienne — Out: G League

Haywood Highsmith — Out: Right knee recovery

Chaney Johnson — Out: G League

EJ Liddell — Out: G League

Michael Porter Jr. — Available: Illness

Ben Saraf — Out: G League

Denver Nuggets injuries:

Tamar Bates — Out: Left foot surgery

Christian Braun — Questionable: Left ankle sprain

Aaron Gordon — Questionable: Right hamstring strain

Cameron Johnson — Out: right knee bone bruise

Nikola Jokic — Out: Left knee bone bruise

Jamal Murray — Probable: Left ankle sprain

Jonas Valanciunas — Out: Right calf strain

The Nets will be without their starting center in Nic Claxton tonight, as well as forward Haywood Highsmith, who has yet to make his Brooklyn debut this season.

They get good news in the availability of Michael Porter Jr., who missed two games due to illness. He’s been the team’s top scorer on the season so far, cruising toward a potential All-Star berth with 25.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.

The Nuggets are one of the more injured teams in the league presently, with three-time MVP Nikola Jokic having recently suffered a hyperextension set to keep him out several weeks.

In addition to Jokic, starters in Cameron Johnson, Christian Braun and Aaron Gordon have also missed time. Braun and Gordon are questionable to play today, while Johnson is out.

Backup center Jonas Valanciunas is the most recent addition to the Nuggets’ injury report, having gone for 17 points on 5-for-6 shooting in the first game without Jokic.

The Nuggets and Nets tip off this afternoon at 2:30 p.m. CT from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.

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