DeAndre Jordan’s efforts were vital in Nuggets’ bounce-back victory

DeAndre Jordan hadn’t played in a game in three weeks for the Denver Nuggets. He wasn’t injured, he was just out of the rotation.

When his name was called Sunday in Houston, the 17-year-veteran stepped up to the challenge and played arguably his best game of the season to help propel the Nuggets to a victory without Nikola Jokic.

“In this league, you never know when your number is going to be called,” Jordan said. “It’s our jobs and we hold ourselves accountable to be ready.”

In 38 minutes of action (his most since Jan. 18, 2021), Jordan tallied 11 points (5-7 shooting), 15 rebounds and 4 assists. The Nuggets needed him to step up against the No. 1 offensive rebounding team in the league, and he delivered. His 15 rebounds were the most by any player in Sunday’s game.

“I thought DeAndre Jordan was incredible today,” Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said postgame.

Jordan is obviously not the same player he was in 2016 when he was a First-Team All-NBA center for the Los Angeles Clippers, but his size and athleticism are still a valuable asset for this Nuggets squad. All five of Jordan’s field goals were emphatic dunks as he made the Houston defense pay for helping too much onto other Nuggets players.

The rebounding was the most important aspect of Jordan’s game Sunday, despite all the flashy dunks. Jordan is currently ranked 35th all-time in career rebounds in the NBA, and his ability was on full display in Houston. He knew that rebounding was how he would be able to make a difference in this league when he was young, and has carried that emphasis through all 17 years of his career.

“From a young age, I took a lot of pride and ownership in [rebounding],” Jordan said.

Jamal Murray was happy to have Jordan back out on the floor Sunday, and despite having 39 points of his own, gave all the praise to Jordan and his leadership after the game instead of talking about his individual accomplishments.

“He’s always talking, he’s super vocal, encouraging,  [and is] always keeping guys in good spirits,” Murray said. “I just think he does a great job of staying involved. As a player, you want to play, you want to play, you want to give back to the team in that way, but he does such a good job of just adapting to his role on the team and being a team guy.”

With Jokic expected to return sometime in the upcoming five-game homestead for Denver, Jordan likely won’t get many more opportunities like this to make a significant impact on a game, but his efforts Sunday showed he still has what it takes to contribute on a playoff team, especially if the matchup is right.