Three Takeaways From Nuggets' Bounce-Back Win vs. Suns

For the sixth time this season, Nikola Jokic attempted just ten or fewer shots in a game, but he made the most of his limited looks at the basket on Saturday night. Jokic finished the night shooting a perfect 7-7 from the field and 2-2 from beyond the arc, leading to a team-high 26 points with ten assists and nine rebounds.

Jokic has a knack for these types of historic stat lines, as not many players can drop a near 26-point triple-double on perfect shooting from the field, but the Serbian superstar is one of the lucky few. Jokic now has the most games in NBA history with 25+ points on 105%+ true shooting, continuing to cement himself as arguably the most efficient superstar ever.

The bench unit shows up big time

All five starters scoring in double-digits was certainly a great sign for the Nuggets, especially considering they are still playing without two starters in Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun. However, a couple of huge bench performances really helped out the Nuggets.

Tim Hardaway Jr. shined with 23 points, tying his season high, on 8-14 shooting from the field and 7-11 from three-point range. The sparkplug has been struggling as of late, shooting just 23.5% from deep in his last six games, but he certainly found his rhythm on Saturday night.

Bruce Brown has been serving as Denver's backup point guard this season, but many have questioned whether or not he is capable of being a lead playmaker. In Saturday's win, Brown finished with ten assists, reaching that mark in a game for just the fourth time in his eight-year NBA career.

When bench players show up like this, it makes the Nuggets' job much easier and takes so much pressure off guys like Jokic and Jamal Murray. Hardaway Jr. and Brown each logged 27 minutes in Saturday's win, as Denver knows they can lean on them when needed.

Spencer Jones makes a statement

Second-year forward Spencer Jones, who is on a two-way contract, has been filling in for Aaron Gordon in Denver's starting lineup since he went down with an injury. Of course, nobody in Denver, and very few players across the NBA, can replicate Gordon's impact, but Jones had a mini-breakout performance on Saturday.

In his last game, Jones tied his previous career-high with nine points, but he took it to the next level on Saturday. Jones finished the win with 16 points on 6-10 shooting from the field and 4-6 from deep, while also logging nine rebounds, four of them offensive, marking new career highs across the board.

With Gordon still expected to miss a couple more weeks, the Nuggets would love to have this type of production and confidence out of Jones regularly. The undrafted 24-year-old certainly did not expect to be put in this role before Gordon's injury, but he is attempting to make the most of it, and Saturday's performance was exactly what he and the team needed.

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