The Denver Nuggets won their first NBA title in June. Five months later they begin the journey for another trophy — but not one named for Larry O'Brien.
The inaugural NBA in-season tournament starts Friday and Denver will host the Dallas Mavericks to open the West Group B play. The Houston Rockets, Los Angeles and New Orleans Pelicans are also part of the group.
The tournament will culminate with the semifinals and final in Las Vegas on Dec. 7 and 9. The winner will take home the NBA Cup.
The games in the tournament, with the exception of the final, will count in the regular-season standings so there is something on the line other than pride. For the Nuggets, that means bouncing back from their first loss of the season, a 110-89 rout at Minnesota on Wednesday night.
The teams met in the first round of the playoffs last spring, won by Denver in five games. The Timberwolves exacted a little revenge with a wire-to-wire win and served notice that the Nuggets are a marked team.
"Hopefully it's a reminder that we're going to get everybody's best every night," Denver coach Michael Malone said.
The upside of the blowout loss was Malone limited his stars' minutes after falling behind by 22 points in the third quarter. Nikola Jokic scored 25 points in just 30 minutes, Jamal Murray played just 32 minutes and five reserves logged at least 16 minutes.
With the Nuggets in the midst of playing six games in nine nights, it helped keep the legs fresh for the weekend.
While Denver fell from the ranks of the unbeaten, the Mavericks stayed perfect through four games with a win over Chicago on Wednesday night behind 25 points and seven 3-pointers from newcomer Grant Williams — both tying career highs. Williams spent his first four seasons with Boston before Dallas acquired him in a three-team deal.
Williams' big night came when Luka Doncic, who averaged 39 points through the first three games, struggled from behind the 3-point line. Doncic still had 10 assists to lead the Mavericks.
"It's difficult to say he wasn't superhuman because passing out of double teams and those plays for us still were incredible," Williams said about Doncic. "He draws all that attention and allows guys like us to play 4-on-4, 4-on-3 sometimes."
Dallas might need more offense from Williams on Friday night. Kyrie Irving has missed two straight games with a sprained left foot and is questionable for Friday. Maxi Kleber played just four minutes on Wednesday night due to a right foot injury and is also questionable.
Irving, who dealt with a groin injury in the preseason, told DallasBasketball.com on Wednesday he is feeling better but he is also being cautious with his injured foot.
"(I'm) doing everything possible to be smart about where my body is," Irving said. "Just taking the necessary steps with our training staff to ensure I stay in shape. One of the worst things is to deal with injuries in preseason, but it's all part of the game. You don't want an injury to carry over into the longevity of the season."
—Field Level Media