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Nuggets Get Back to Work After All-Star Break

By Christopher Dempsey

The Nuggets reconvened on Tuesday night at the Pepsi Center after the All-Star break, ready for a stretch run they hope ends in the team’s first playoff berth since 2013.

“We’ve got to make this run,” guard Emmanuel Mudiay said. “I think we can definitely score on anybody. We definitely have to work on our defense, but if we get our defensive game into it every game we definitely have a chance to be going over .500 in the last 26 games.”

If the Nuggets do that, that would mean 14 more victories at least. Fourteen more victories would give the Nuggets 39 to end the season – and that would be a number many of the teams under them currently in the Western Conference standings would be hard-pressed to match. The Nuggets enter the post-All Star portion of the season with a 25-31 record, a game-and-a-half up on Sacramento in the race for the eighth spot.

To get there, Nuggets coach Michael Malone knows one thing has to happen.

“Defend better,” Malone said. “Our offense is our offense. Our offense has been playing at a very high level, an elite level since Dec. 15. That’s a long time. But for us to be a playoff team we have to defend better and more consistently. We do that and our offense stays where it’s at? We’re a pretty good basketball team.”

A number of Nuggets are taking their first voyage into pressurized games down the stretch of an NBA season. The team has veterans that can help the young players navigate those waters, including its newest addition, Mason Plumlee, who was just in the playoffs last season with Portland.

His advice for the Nuggets’ youngsters?

And yet, Mudiay said, the Nuggets don’t want to look too far down the road.

“I don’t think we’re looking too far into it,” he said. “We just want to take one game at a time, 26 games that’s a lot of games, a lot of stuff can happen. Just got to take it one day at a time.”

All-Star Nuggets. The Nuggets sent three players to NBA All-Star weekend, and while an injured Emmanuel Mudiay couldn’t participate, center Nikola Jokic and guard Jamal Murray did. The duo led the “World” team over the U.S. in the Rising Stars

Challenge, and Murray was named the game’s MVP. Jokic, meanwhile, had a near triple-double in the game and then just missed advancing to the final of the skills competition.

“It was fun,” Jokic said. “Good experience. … It was just great to be there. The rookie game, those guys are going to be All-Stars one day. Just to be around those guys is a really good feeling.”

Murray had 36 points and 11 assists in 20 minutes in the game. He kept a cool demeanor when asked about the experience.

“It was a lot of fun to be out there with all of those guys,” Murray said. “We all had fun, got the win and overall it was a good All-Star break.”

Injured players return. All of the injured Nuggets – Emmanuel Mudiay (back), Kenneth Faried (ankle), Danilo Gallinari (groin), Wilson Chandler (illness) – participated in Tuesday night’s practice. Nuggets coach Michael Malone is hopeful all will be available for Thursday’s game at Sacramento.

“My hope is that (Wednesday) when they wake up, they feel good enough to practice once again, get on that plane and get ready to start off our post All-Star break against Sacramento,” Malone said.