Nuggets' Michael Porter Jr. clearing COVID-19 protocols to play vs. Mavericks?

The Denver Nuggets are set to get a missing piece back in the lineup ahead of Thursday's game against the Dallas Mavericks. 

Mike Singer of the Denver Post and other outlets reported on Wednesday that forward Michael Porter Jr. will end his quarantine by the end of the night and is expected to be available for Thursday's contest. 

The 22-year-old entered a seven-day league-mandated quarantine period last week following COVID-19 contact tracing protocols. Porter missed a contest against the Phoenix Suns and back-to-back games versus the Minnesota Timberwolves. 

Denver won two of those outings to improve to 3-4 on the season. 

Porter started in each of Denver's first four games and is third on the team with 19.5 points and second with 6.8 rebounds and a 26.60 player efficiency rating. In his last appearance before entering quarantine, he scored 30 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a 125-115 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Dec. 29.

"We’ve seen it in the NFL, the NBA, college sports," Nuggets coach Michael Malone told reporters about the league's coronavirus protocols last week, per Singer. “These are real protocols. They’re in place for a reason. Hopefully, we can learn from it. Every game that one of our players misses, especially a starter, obviously is going to have an impact."

Malone continued: 

“The NBA has consulted with the CDC and the best doctors in the country to make sure that we are following those protocols and that we’re disciplined with those protocols. Unfortunate, but this is the current situation that we’re in.”