Nuggets coach wary of struggling opponents

Nuggets coach Michael Malone has a message for his defending champions.

The reason they’re rolling and in contention for the top seed in the Western Conference is that “we have not cared who we’re playing; we’ve cared about playing up to our standards.”

Malone reiterated that point after Saturday night’s 142-121 win over the Utah Jazz. The Nuggets had beaten the East-leading Boston Celtics 115-109 two nights earlier, and led the Jazz by as many as 39 points in the first half before Utah closed the gap by 20 in the third quarter.

“That was embarrassing,” said

Malone, with the Nuggets set to host the 23-41 Raptors on Monday night.

“I was really proud of our approach to start the game. To build a 39-point lead was outstanding. Unfortunately, coming out of the half, we did not do anything remotely close to what we did in the first half to get that lead.”

The Nuggets made 14 of 20 longrange shots before halftime and finished 19 of 32 from beyond the arc, led by Jamal Murray’s six threes on nine attempts.

With Murray leading the second unit in the fourth quarter, the Nuggets recalibrated and cruised to their eighth win in nine games since the all-star break. But after completing a season sweep of the powerhouse Celtics, Malone was wary of an emotional letdown.

“Getting up for the best team in the NBA is easy,” Malone said before the Utah game, “and Boston’s a sexy game. Tonight is different. You’re playing against a team that’s 5 ½ games out of the play-in with no Lauri Markkanen (bruised right thigh). They have no all-stars. They’re playing a lot of guys that our players probably don’t even know about. They don’t know who Brice Sensabaugh is.”

The Raptors, 12th in the East, won’t have their only all-star, Scottie Barnes, who is recovering from surgery on his left, non-shooting hand. Starting centre Jakob Poeltl is also out following surgery on his left pinky finger.