REST OF JOKIC’S SEASON NEEDS TO INCLUDE REST

There was no rest in the Big Easy for Nikola Jokic.

The Nuggets’ 22-year-old center was front and center at the all-star festivities in New Orleans last weekend, and he didn’t mince any words when asked upon returning to practice this week whether he had found enough time to rest during the break.

“No,” Jokic said flatly Tuesday. “I’m really tired. My body is tired. I’m trying to get as much rest as I can, use all of the trainers to help me. Nobody is going to feel bad for me. I’m going to go out there and play.”

Jokic didn’t look like the player who had been dominant over the last six weeks during Denver’s 116-110 loss at Sacramento on Thursday, finishing with just four points on 2-of-7 shooting. That came on the heels of his previous performance in a loss to Minnesota on Feb. 15, when the 6-foot-10 post player scored 15 points on 6-of-19 shooting.

Nuggets coach Michael Malone met with Jokic on Friday afternoon to get a sense of the factors behind his recent struggles.

“We have to get him back,” Malone said. “There’s a lot of pressure on a 22-year-old kid to lead us to the playoffs. Maybe that gets to him a little bit. I know he’s tired. He went down to the all-star break fatigued and was obviously very busy down there. But we have to play through him more and the guys around him have to help him out.”

As to what the Nuggets can do to find Jokic rest in spots?

“Just being smart about his minutes, not overloading him,” Malone said. “When we have practice days, not doing too much. It’s a grind and everybody is tired. We have to find a way to be very mentally tough to fight through that fatigue.”

Mudiay third string.

Emmanuel Mudiay was available against the Kings on Thursday but didn’t see any action. Jameer Nelson started at point guard and rookie Jamal Murray served as Nelson’s backup. Malone said that rotation will continue.

“I’ll probably go with that for the next couple games and see where that takes us,” Malone said. “That doesn’t mean Emmanuel is done with us and isn’t part of the team anymore. By no means is that the case. I can only pick four guys to play in the backcourt, and right now I’m going to go with Jameer, Jamal, Gary (Harris) and Will Barton as those four.”

Hibbert delayed.

New Nuggets center Roy Hibbert wasn’t available for Friday’s game against the Nets at the Pepsi Center. Malone said flight problems delayed Hibbert, and he was expected to arrive later Friday.