Michael Porter Jr. returns to face Nuggets as leader of Nets

Michael Porter Jr. was integral in Denver winning the 2023 NBA title, but salary cap problems prompted the Nuggets to deal him to the Brooklyn Nets last summer.

Porter makes his first trip back to Denver when Brooklyn visits Thursday night in the middle of its five-game road trip.

Porter, who leads the Nets in scoring with a career-best 25.2 points a game, thrived playing alongside Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, but the Nuggets decided they had to trade him for salary flexibility in order to remain a contender.

The Nets also received a future first-round draft pick, adding to their stock for the current rebuild.

Brooklyn is coming off a 106-102 loss at Phoenix on Tuesday night that was more costly than just its 14th loss in 16 games. Forward Ziaire Williams was injured in a scuffle at the end of the game when a Suns staffer ran on the court to try to break up the melee, according to the New York Post.

"Yeah, he's hurt. We don't know exactly what it is right now. It was a member of the other team running in to break up the fight, and he ran into him and hurt him," head coach Jordi Fernandez said. "So, we'll see how long it is. Hopefully, it's not a long time."

Williams was diagnosed with a left calf contusion and ruled out for Thursday's game.

Williams averages just 9.5 points a game but leads the Nets with 1.1 steals. Cam Thomas is second on the team in scoring (15.9 points) and Nic Claxton leads Brooklyn in rebounds (7.4) and assists (4.0).

One of the Nets' two victories over the last month came against Denver on Jan. 4 when Porter poured in 27 points. It was the Nuggets' third game after losing Jokic to a knee injury, but they've been able to stay near the top of the Western Conference without the three-time MVP.

Denver has struggled at home, where it lost its third in a row Tuesday night, 109-107 against the visiting Detroit Pistons. The Nuggets are just 12-9 on their court where they have historically dominated.

Tuesday's loss came with four starters -- Jokic, Cameron Johnson, Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun -- sidelined. Jokic and Johnson have been out for four weeks and Braun has missed 33 games with a left ankle injury.

Gordon aggravated a right hamstring injury last Friday in Milwaukee. He will miss his 24th game since mid-November.

Murray has helped carry Denver to a 9-6 record without Jokic with his 25.9 scoring average. He missed three of six critical free throws in the final seconds against the Pistons after twice getting fouled on 3-point attempts.

The bright spot was Jonas Valanciunas, who returned from an 11-game absence against Washington on Thursday before sitting out the second game of a back-to-back. Valanciunas had 16 points and a season-high 16 rebounds against Detroit.

"I missed some time, so I need to get into game shape," Valanciunas said. "It's going to take a little bit of time, but I feel good just playing basketball."

--Field Level Media