Nikola Jokic, Nuggets Impress Fans, Beat Kings in 1st Game After Michael Malone Firing

The Denver Nuggets have a new coach and no more losing streak.

Denver snapped its four-game skid with a 124-116 victory over the Sacramento Kings in Wednesday's Western Conference matchup at the Golden 1 Center. It improved to 48-32 overall as it continues to fight for positioning in the playoff race.

As for the Kings, they saw their own three-game winning streak come to an end as they fell to 39-41.

It was the Nuggets' first game since they fired head coach Michael Malone and announced general manager Calvin Booth will not return next season, but interim coach David Adelman helped lead them to victory. It helps any coach having Nikola Jokić on their side, and the three-time MVP finished with a triple-double of 20 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists and four steals.

All five Denver starters scored in double figures with Christian Braun (25 points), Michael Porter Jr. (21 points), Aaron Gordon (21 points) and Jalen Pickett (18 points and five three-pointers) all playing well as social media reacted to the victory:

Denver and Sacramento are both playing for postseason positioning, but the Malone news put this game under much more of a spotlight. It was the first chance for the NBA world to see what the Nuggets will look like as they begin a new era after shockingly moving on from the franchise's leader in coaching wins (471) so close to the playoffs.

That Malone also led the franchise to its only NBA championship in 2023 made the move all the more stunning, but the visitors looked perfectly comfortable out of the gates as they built an eight-point halftime lead.

Jokić was his usual self doing a little bit of everything, but Braun, Gordon and Porter all provided important scoring lifts with Jamal Murray still sidelined by a hamstring injury.

It was Pickett's turn to take advantage of the spacing Jokić creates in the third quarter, and the role-player-turned-starter found his stroke from deep as the Nuggets expanded their lead to double digits.

They are at their most dangerous when Jokić doesn't need to score 30-plus points to win, and everyone else contributing so much on offense left Sacramento's defense with little chance for extended stretches.

Yet the home team finally established some momentum in the fourth quarter in large part because of its own offense. Zach LaVine's outside shooting and DeMar DeRozan's crunch-time scoring closed the gap, although Gordon and Porter answered them with clutch threes of their own to keep the Kings at bay.

Fittingly, it was Jokić who made the biggest plays at winning time, though, as he scored in the lane, assisted Pickett and hit free throws to help ice it.

Now Denver will look to put its recent losing streak behind it and start a winning streak when it hosts the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday.