The Denver Nuggets have been dominant when playing on the second night of back-to-back games, and they will look to continue that success when they host the Orlando Magic on Thursday night.
This marks the 11th time this season that Denver has played on consecutive nights, and they have performed well, with a 9-1 record in those games. The only loss came against Houston on Jan. 15, when Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon were not playing.
Denver is coming off a 144-119 victory against New Orleans on Wednesday night. The Nuggets have won four straight games, with Michael Porter Jr. leading the way in their last two victories over the Pelicans.
Porter scored 36 points on Monday, then followed that with 39 points on Wednesday, tying his career high. Porter has made 12 of his last 21 three-point attempts and has been playing strong amid trade rumors surrounding him.
Coach Michael Malone stated this week that the team is not trading Porter.
“We know what Michael gives us from the offensive end — the shooting, the efficiency,” Malone said. “Two games in a row he put up amazing numbers, and doing so at a very efficient manner to go with 12 boards (on Wednesday). It’s great to see him playing at a high level as we approach the All-Star break.”
Porter ranks third on the team in scoring, averaging 18.7 points per game. Jamal Murray is second with 20.2 points, and Jokic leads the team in scoring (29.7), rebounds (12.8), and assists (10.3).
Thursday’s game will be the second and final matchup of the season between the Nuggets and Magic. Denver won the first game 113-100 in Orlando on Jan. 19, a game in which the Magic were without guard Jalen Suggs due to a back strain. Suggs missed Orlando’s 130-111 win against Sacramento on Wednesday night with a quad contusion.
Franz Wagner, who also missed the Jan. 19 matchup, scored 31 points in Orlando’s win over the Kings. Wagner leads the Magic with an average of 25.1 points per game, followed by Paolo Banchero at 22.6 and Suggs at 16.2.
Wednesday’s win snapped a four-game losing streak for the Magic and marked their first victory on their six-game road trip, which will wrap up on Thursday night.
Orlando has struggled with a 6-15 record since their last back-to-back wins on Dec. 21-23, but they remain optimistic.
“The spirit can be better,” Banchero said recently. “That’s part of the reason why I think we’ve lost some of these games. But [as] I said, it’s on us to take initiative and fix it. No one outside the locker room is going to fix it. We have to depend on each other and look out for each other in these moments.”
Thursday’s game will also be the first time Kentavious Caldwell-Pope plays in Denver since signing with the Magic. Caldwell-Pope helped the Nuggets win the 2023 NBA title and played for them for two seasons before leaving for Orlando last summer.
