It also helped that they sent Denver’s best player to bench with early foul trouble. Nikola Jokic finished with 20 points but was limited to 6:23 in the first half when he accumulated three fouls, including two in the opening minutes.

„We got him in foul trouble and if he’s not on the floor he can’t score,“ New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry said. „Even in limited minutes, he gets 20 points. He’s a great, great player, a terrific player. We did about as good a job as you’re going to do on him from the standpoint of not allowing him to be a facilitator.“

Jokic wound up playing for 21:34 in the game.

„Yeah, it’s always nice if you can have your best player on the floor for more than 21 minutes,“ Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. „That’s back to back games where he has been in foul trouble. We have to avoid that because Nikola on the bench does not help us in any way, shape or form.“

ESPN