NBA 2018-19: 3 Talking Points from the Denver Nuggets' win over the Charlotte Hornets

With Cody Zeller out for weeks owing to a fractured hand and the subsequent surgery, the Hornets had a tall task at hand when they flew into Denver to face the Nuggets. The Joker greeted them with one of his memorable performances of the season so far, much to the delight of the home crowd at the Pepsi Center, as the Nuggets bested the Hornets for a 123-110 victory.

The tough defeat to the West leaders meant that the Hornets have now lost two in a row. They have tasted victory only four times in the last ten games and thus fall to 9.5 games behind the East leaders in the Milwaukee Bucks. They are currently residing down at the 8th spot in the Eastern Conference with an 18-20(0.474) win-loss record.

On the other hand, the Denver Nuggets are soaring right now, 1.5 games clear of the second-best Golden State & OKC out West. They have won eight of their last ten matchups and this was their fifth win in a row. As of now, Denver sits at the zenith of the West leaderboard, with a blazing 26-11(0.703) win-loss record next to their name.

Let's draw out some key takeaways from this Nuggets home win over the hapless Charlotte Hornets.

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#1 Nikola Jokic showed why he is one of the best big men in the league

Nikola Jokic is averaging 18.8 points per game this season.

Nikola Jokic is turning out to be as complete a center for his team as there has ever been. He is averaging a double-double of 18.8 ppg and 10.0 rpg on the season, along with dishing out an exceedingly high 7.5 dimes per game for a man his size.

Against the Hornets in this one, he gave us a glimpse of how good he can be on any given night as he finished with an imposing double-double outlined by a game-high total of 39 points and 12 rebounds.

He played the most minutes(34) than anybody on his team, shooting 16-of-29 from the floor(his 29 shot attempts being season-high). On the defensive end, he contributed with three steals and a blocked shot, all this while committing just two turnovers in the game.

"You try to play him straight up, he's going to do what he wants," Hornets guard Malik Monk said of Nikola Jokic. "We just tried to play him straight up and he just exploited us on that. He's a great player. I can't say anything bad about him."

This was Jokic's fourth 20+ point performance in the last five games.

#2 Seven Hornets players scored in double-digits, but could not pull through for a win

Tony Parker comes off the bench for the Charlotte Hornets

Hornets Coach James Borrego decided to go with Williams, Walker, Biyombo, Batum, and Graham as his starting five against the mighty Nuggets side. All of the starters scored at least 10 points, led by Kemba's team-high total of 20. Biyombo chipped in with a season-high score of 16 points, shooting an impressive 7-of-10 from the field and pulling down 12 boards in the process.

Malik Monk and Hernangomez provided some valuable minutes off the bench, as they combined for 26 points on a night when every player on the Hornets roster played 12 minutes at the very least. Monk scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half, including a highlight buzzer-beater over Jamal Murray to end the third period.

The Hornets shot a decent 47.6% from the field as a team and made 21 of their 26 free throws, but all that effort fell short when the Joker and his Nuggets annihilated them on both ends of the floor eventually.

#3 The Nuggets are not even at full strength yet

Paul Millsap shot a decent 7-of-14 from the floor.

The Nuggets lost two prominent centerpieces in Gary Harris and Paul Millsap to injuries early on in the season. Without the duo and Will Barton(who is still out), the Nuggets managed to build an empire in the ever-so-competitive Western Conference, and by far, are leading the pack.

With Harris and Millsap back in the rotation, only imagination limits what this team can achieve. Although Coach Malone is not rushing their incorporation into the lineup, both received 26 minutes of playtime each, in which they combined for 35 points off the bench.

"It's good to be healthy. It's good to be whole," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. "Both (Millsap and Harris) showed they're ready to take their starting jobs back. Me bringing them off the bench was trying to get them back into a game rhythm."

The Denver Nuggets recorded a season-high 31 second-chance points in this game and outscored Charlotte in the paint 64-48.