WHAT THEY SAID:
Nuggets coach Michael Malone on the game: “I wasn’t happy with the fourth quarter, but we were able to pull out the win and every win right now is huge. This game was won at the foul line. We get there 43 times. I think they only get there 12. That was fantastic. We were very aggressive. But we have to learn to play with the lead. When we get up big, understand what got us the lead and continue to do that. Don’t get bored with success.”
Malone on Gallo’s return: “First game back, he missed 12 days. He gets 21 points, 11 rebounds – and what I loved about it is he goes 2-of-12 from the field, okay my jump shot is not working, let me get to the free throw line. He gets 18 attempts, got Paul George in foul trouble. So it was great to have Gallo back.”
Nikola Jokić on whether he looks to be aggressive in scoring: “No. I just take what the game gives me. And that’s it.”
Jokić on winning on the road: “It’s always good. We have a two-hour flight back home, so it’s always good to mess with the guys after a win.”
Wilson Chandler on any player stepping up at any time: “We have a lot of guys who can score. Some nights some guys are going to be hotter than others. That’s just how it is. But when we’re sharing the ball and everybody is scoring, we’re pretty good.”
Chandler on Jokić’s passing: “With him you’ve got to be prepared for anything. Right now, the only thing that surprises me with him is a dunk or something. Other than that, passes and stuff like that, you just expect them.”
NOTES:
- Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari played for the first time after missing four games due to a bone bruise in his left knee. He recorded a double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds, collecting most of that total from the free throw line where he was 17-of-18. Afterward, Gallo reported feeling “a little sore” but okay. “It was just really good to be out there,” Gallinari said. He was distressed by making just 2-of-12 shots from the field, but had a simple explanation: “I shot the ball terrible. So I’ve got to get back to the gym and work on those legs a little bit.”
- At 35-37, the Nuggets are within two games of .500. But achieving a break-even record by the end of the season isn’t foremost on coach Michael Malone’s mind. “We don’t even talk about it. Honest to God. We don’t talk about it. We don’t talk about anything except who’s next.”
- Wilson Chandler scored 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting against the Pacers. In the two games since he’s returned from injury, he’s averaged 21.0 points and 4.5 rebounds. He’s shooting 60 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from the 3-point line. “I feel pretty good,” Chandler said. “First of all, it wasn’t too serious of an injury, it was just a bone bruise. But I spent a lot of time getting treatment. I flew my acupuncture guy in for a few days and spent countless hours with him.”
- In the win, the Nuggets swept the season series with Indiana, the first time they have done so since 2014-15. But sweeping the Pacers is far from anything new. The Nuggets have done it in six of the previous 12 years.