Most of Jokic’s damage came at the free-throw line, as he finished 10-of-11 from the charity stripe.

Coach Malone did not think Nikola Jokic had a particularly good performance against the Suns — and yet, he nearly notched a triple-double with 21 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. He had a tough defensive matchup against Dragan Bender, who is a long pick-and-pop 3-point shooter. But Denver’s plan was to force Bender to guard in the post, particularly during a second quarter in which Jokic scored 10 points (six on free throws). That effort came one night after Malone said he felt Jokic was too passive when the Rockets switched a smaller defender like James Harden onto him.

“Nikola was aggressive when he got the ball in the post tonight, and he needs to be,” Malone said. “We need to play through him. He needs to generate baskets, free throws or plays for his teammates.”