DETROIT — Both teams playing in the Motor City on Tuesday were maneuvering their rosters as the trade deadline loomed — one of them more quietly than the other.
The Pistons were hosting, just a few hours after sending Jaden Ivey to Chicago in a three-team deal that brought back Kevin Huerter, ex-Nugget Dario Saric and a pick swap. The Nuggets had not completed any trades, but they did have a business decision to make. Spencer Jones embarked on their three-game road trip this week with one game of eligibility remaining on his two-way contract and a back-to-back against two of the East’s best awaiting Denver.
With Christian Braun returning from an ankle injury and supplying David Adelman with another body to work with in Detroit, the Nuggets decided to rest Jones on Tuesday and delay his last game 24 hours until New York, sources told The Denver Post. Jones said week that Denver’s front office had communicated to him the possibility of sitting out games.
The Nuggets clawed back from a 20-point deficit to get within two late in the fourth quarter, but the Pistons held on for a 124-121 win at Little Caesar’s Arena. A fortuitous shooter’s bounce for Tobias Harris with 1:46 left stretched Detroit’s lead to 115-110 as Denver (33-18) struggled to land the comeback’s final punch.
The healthy scratch of Jones was essentially a money-saving tactic for team ownership. Players on two-way deals can be active for up to 50 NBA regular-season games. Jones could be on the verge of a standard contract if the Nuggets can balance their books with a trade by Thursday afternoon. But they’ve already gone through half of the season with an open roster spot; nothing would’ve prevented them from converting his contract immediately if they wanted him available in Detroit.
Instead, they were operating without a power forward. Aaron Gordon is also sidelined as he recovers from a hamstring strain. Adelman rolled out Braun, Peyton Watson and Jalen Pickett in the starting unit alongside his two stars, foreshadowing a night of guard-heavy lineups.
His team’s toughness was tested almost instantly by the Pistons. The proceedings got chippy in the first quarter after Jonas Valanciunas put Isaiah Stewart in a headlock under the basket. Newly minted Pistons All-Star Jalen Duren exchanged shoves with Valanciunas, and both received technical fouls. Valanciunas also picked up a flagrant for the play on Stewart.
By halftime, both head coaches and Pistons guard Duncan Robinson had been handed techs as well. Jamal Murray and Stewart jawed back and forth a couple of times. Cade Cunningham got into foul trouble in the third frame. Adelman, in search of a bigger power forward, started playing Nikola Jokic at the four in a double-big lineup with Valanciunas to match Detroit’s size and physicality.
Both centers started the fourth quarter after Denver trimmed a 20-point deficit back to 13.
The Nuggets couldn’t buy a bucket early. They missed their first seven 3s while falling behind by double digits and shot 31.8% from the field in the first half. They were able to linger regardless, until a disastrous two-minute stretch to end the half. Three consecutive turnovers — two by Jokic — fueled a 10-0 Pistons run that stretched the lead to 69-50.
Jokic played 32 minutes, another gradual increase in his third game back from a left knee injury. He went for 24 points and 15 rebounds, but he also turned it over five times. Braun logged 25 minutes in just his 15th game of the season, which has been defined by the severe ankle sprain he suffered in November when it was stepped on by James Harden (who was traded to Cleveland during the second quarter of Denver’s game Tuesday).
The Nuggets’ back-to-back Wednesday at Madison Square Garden will test their resilience. They haven’t lost three consecutive games all season, but this is one of the toughest portions of their schedule: the Thunder, Pistons and Knicks in three cities across four days.
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