Nuggets coach Michael Malone leaned on the basket stanchion, watching carefully at the end of Tuesday’s practice as Michael Porter Jr. went through his first one-on-one contact work since his back surgery on Dec. 1.
Porter took offensive and defensive turns against Nuggets reserve Davon Reed, whose rangy defense marked the unofficial starting point for Porter’s return.
On one possession, Porter took Reed off the dribble and finished inside. On the next, he lined up and splashed a 3-pointer from the wing. By this point, Malone had shifted his vantage point to watch the proceedings from the corner.