Nuggets extend winning streak despite resting starters vs. Thunder

The Denver Nuggets didn't care enough about playoff seeding to play any of their starters Friday night. After the Oklahoma City Thunder sat nine rotation players themselves, they came away with their 11th straight game and clinched home-court advantage in the first round.

Nuggets coach David Adelman told reporters the team was prioritizing rest over playoff positioning, but they may also not want to face the Minnesota Timberwolves, who beat them in the 2024 playoffs.

Denver Nuggets bench came through versus Thunder

Denver has rested their full starting lineup, but the reserves came through. Jonas Valanciunas, acquired before the season to solve the Nuggets' perennial problem of finding a backup for Nikola Jokic, had 23 points and 17 rebounds on Friday.

Julian Strawther made four three-pointers and scored 22 points, while Jalen Pickett scored 13 points and finished with a game-high plus/minus of +17. It's a positive sign for a Nuggets team that hasn't been able to trust its bench players in the last two playoffs.

The Thunder were limited to an eight-man rotation, but they still had Lu Dort, who had to play 20 minutes in the Thunder's last two games in order to hit the 65-game qualifier for postseason awards. The game certainly lacked the stakes the NBA may have envisioned for a late-season matchup between title contenders, but it remained a positive for the Nuggets.

The 65-game limit will make Nuggets-Spurs lackluster as well

Jokic will be back in the lineup for Sunday's season finale against the San Antonio Spurs, as he's only played 64 games himself. Unfortunately for the fans, Victor Wembanyama is unlikely to face him. The Spurs center hit 65 games with a 40-point, 13-rebound effort against the Dallas Mavericks, and is now qualified for the Defensive Player of the Year Award for which he is a prohibitive favorite.

Should the Nuggets win, they'd lock up the three seed and be in line for a second-round matchup with the Spurs. That means the big battle between the NBA's center of the future and the center of the present will have to wait a few weeks — but the performance of the Denver reserves suggests the Nuggets have a great chance to get there.