Chandler scores careerhigh, Denver beats Kings

DENVER — Three shots in, Wilson Chandler knew it was going to be that kind of night. His jumper felt so smooth. Chandler scored a careerbest 36 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, helping the Denver Nuggets weather the absence of Nikola Jokic to beat the Sacramento Kings 108-96 on Monday.

“He was phenomenal,” said Michael Malone, who improved to 1-5 against his former team as coach of the Nuggets. “I wasn’t aware it was a career high, but I knew he had a special night. Hopefully, he can keep that going for us.”

Chandler got off to a torrid start, scoring 16 points in the first quarter. He was stuck on 33 points for quite a while, but eclipsed his best outing on a 3-pointer with 32 seconds remaining. His previous high was 35 on three occasions, most recently at Chicago on March 18, 2013.

The Nuggets snapped a five-game skid against Sacramento. More important, they remained entrenched in the

Western Conference’s final playoff spot.

Jokic was a late scratch because of an illness. With him went 15.9 points, 9.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists. Mason Plumlee stepped in and posted Jokic-like numbers — 10 points, 12 rebounds and five assists.

“I thought guys stepped up. I thought Wilson played great,” Plumlee said. “He kept us going from the jump and then I thought our defense was good, too.”

Darren Collison led seven Kings players in doubles figures with 17 points as they dropped their fifth straight. The team was coming off a tough loss the night before when Utah’s Rudy Gobert tipped in a missed jumper as time expired in overtime on a play that was initially ruled goaltending.