- Nuggets guard Jamal Murray has been playing through left knee soreness, which caused him to be pulled at halftime from Friday’s victory over Brooklyn, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. Head coach Michael Malone admitted that he almost repeated that on Sunday in Dallas, when Murray struggled mightily in the first half vs. Dallas, only to help lead the team to a turnaround victory in the second half. “I’m just gonna defend him for a second. Because he’s not 100% healthy,” Malone said after the win. “I thought about shutting him down at halftime. Because I’m watching him out there, and I know that’s not the Jamal Murray that (I watch) when he’s playing healthy. That wasn’t him, if that makes sense.”
- Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon had an “outstanding” showing in his return to action on Sunday, Durando writes in another story for The Denver Post. “I think we’ll probably stay right around 20 (minutes) for a while, and then probably go to about 25,” said Gordon, who had 13 points (on 6-of-7 shooting), six rebounds, two assists and a block, with Denver outscoring Dallas by 23 points in his 18 minutes. “And then I don’t know. We’ll probably stay around there for a little while. … I don’t care whether I start or come off the bench. It does not matter to me. As long as I can contribute to winning the game for us and help us win, I don’t care.” Gordon has missed a total of 19 games this season due to right calf issues.