After eight games in an unfamiliar bench role, it was time for Aaron Gordon to shed his minutes restriction and rejoin the starting lineup. The pain in his right calf had subsided. He was ready. But his return dominoed into a difficult choice for Nuggets coach Michael Malone.

The Denver Nuggets lost their 19th game of the season on Wednesday night at the hands of the New York Knicks 122-112. Denver elected to go with a new starting lineup in the game. They moved Aaron Gordon back into the starting rotation and moved Christian Braun to the bench.

Aaron Gordon rejoined Denver’s starting lineup on Wednesday night against the Knicks, with Russell Westbrook staying in the lineup and Christian Braun moving to the bench.

Russell Westbrook partnership has worked so well, Michael Malone must keep the latter in the Nuggets’ starting lineup.

Malone went small with his starting lineup, opting to start Russell Westbrook instead of Peyton Watson and repurposing Michael Porter Jr. as a power forward. The results have been successful ...

During the most recent nine-game stretch that he spent on the sideline, Malone went small with his starting lineup, opting to start Russell Westbrook instead of Peyton Watson and repurposing Michael Porter Jr. as a power forward. The results have been ...

Denver Nuggets guard Russell Westbrook entered Wednesday's game against the New York Knicks averaging 13.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 6.4 assists in his 17th NBA season. Appearing in all 46 games for Denver, Westbrook has been a starter for 25 of them.

Nuggets head coach Michael Malone made a lineup change on Wednesday night, benching Christian Braun for Aaron Gordon against the Knicks.

In their previous 24 meetings, Towns averaged 24.2 points, 11.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists. while Jokic posted 19.0 points, 10.3 boards and 5.9 assists.

Scoring has been climbing as of late, but this year the stat inflation has revealed itself in a more subtle way.

Ahead of this game, the Nuggets made a rotation change by reinserting Aaron Gordon into the starting lineup. Rather than Russell Westbrook returning to the bench though, it was Christian Braun who went to the second unit, coming off the bench for the first time this season.

The Denver Nuggets dropped their third game in a row, this time losing to the New York Knicks 122-112. Nikola Jokic got called for two fouls in the first