Yet again this week, the Nuggets won a road game with Nikola Jokic absent for the second half. They are 3-0 when that happens this season, once in a rest day and twice after he’s been ejected.
While coach Michael Malone joked that “I’m starting to think he’s overrated” after their win Wednesday in Chicago, the Nuggets’ record in those situations is more an endorsement of their handling of setbacks and hardships this season than a comment on Jokic’s value.
On Jan. 5, 2024, the Nuggets will wrap up their ninth back-to-back in the first 37 games of the season — 48.