Michael Malone had a couple of questions for his team heading into Friday’s game against a grounded Houston Rockets squad.

The experience of Will Barton III and JaVale McGee provided the answers.

“Before we left the locker room, I asked the players ‘What do you think worries me most about this game?’ Will Barton said right away ‘Us,’” Malone remembered. “Because in my six years, there have been times where we’ve looked at a team that maybe only had 14 wins and was 1-9 in their last 10, and the challenge was simple. This game had nothing to do with the Houston Rockets. It was all about us and our approach.”

The Nuggets earned praise for their professionalism after building a double-digit lead in the first quarter and extending it until the final minutes of a 128-99 win in Houston. The starters and bench units both got some love from their coach.

“The guys got off to a good start. I thought the bench unit once again was really good,” Malone said. “JaMychal (Green) and Paul (Millsap) are really finding a rhythm.”

Green led the bench in scoring with 13 points, while Millsap and PJ Dozier added 11 apiece. Millsap added 10 rebounds for a double-double in less than 17 minutes of playing time, putting together one of his better performances since his role changed after the Aaron Gordon trade.

“It’s been a struggle just trying to figure it out – new role, new position,” Millsap, who has recently logged more minutes at backup center, said. “(I’ve been) trying to figure it out the past few weeks and not overthink the game – just get out there and play my game, try to do everything I can to help this team win in the position I’m in.”

Nikola Jokic and Michael Porter Jr. led the Nuggets to a quick start. Porter hit a couple of his four 3-pointers early, while Jokic got going with a series of scores inside. Jokic finished with 29 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists and two steals in three quarters.

“His fingerprints are all over everything we do,” Malone said. “Offensively, defensively, locker room, culture, huddles, whatever you want to talk about Nikola’s going to be in the mix. He has that kind of impact.”

Porter, the only other Nugget to score more than 13 points, finished with 21 on 13 shots.

“My teammates have been doing a great job of just on-time, on-target passes, making it easy for me to rise up and just feel in rhythm,” Porter said.

Barton finished as the only other starter in double figures with 12 points, while Monte Morris, who has joined the starters since Jamal Murray tore his anterior cruciate ligament, finished with six points and missed most of the second half as a precaution. Malone said he saw Morris grabbing at his hamstring and didn’t want to take any chances given Murray’s status and Denver’s big lead.

“He was just getting a little tight, and I didn’t want to chance it,” Malone said.

The bench got credit for putting the finishing touches on the Rockets, which relied mostly on young players as they rebuild, and not forcing Malone to go back to his starters late. Kelly Olynyk and rookie Jae’Sean Tate led Houston with 23 and 21 points, respectively.

“Every team might look at their record and think it’s going to be a layup night, but they play hard,” Green said. “So our main focus was coming out here and handling business.”

They did that in part thanks to Barton and McGee, who got the night off but provided an assist before the tip.

“I asked JaVale McGee, who’s been on three world championship teams, ‘What do good teams do?’” Malone recalled his second pregame question. “They handle their business, and I thought tonight we were able to do that.”

Michael Malone had a couple of questions for his team heading into Friday’s game against a grounded Houston Rockets squad.

The experience of Will Barton III and JaVale McGee provided the answers.

“Before we left the locker room, I asked the players ‘What do you think worries me most about this game?’ Will Barton said right away ‘Us,’” Malone remembered. “Because in my six years, there have been times where we’ve looked at a team that maybe only had 14 wins and was 1-9 in their last 10, and the challenge was simple. This game had nothing to do with the Houston Rockets. It was all about us and our approach.”

The Nuggets earned praise for their professionalism after building a double-digit lead in the first quarter and extending it until the final minutes of a 128-99 win in Houston. The starters and bench units both got some love from their coach.

“The guys got off to a good start. I thought the bench unit once again was really good,” Malone said. “JaMychal (Green) and Paul (Millsap) are really finding a rhythm.”

Green led the bench in scoring with 13 points, while Millsap and PJ Dozier added 11 apiece. Millsap added 10 rebounds for a double-double in less than 17 minutes of playing time, putting together one of his better performances since his role changed after the Aaron Gordon trade.

“It’s been a struggle just trying to figure it out — new role, new position,” Millsap, who has recently logged more minutes at backup center, said. “(I’ve been) trying to figure it out the past few weeks and not overthink the game — just get out there and play my game, try to do everything I can to help this team win in the position I’m in.”

Nikola Jokic and Michael Porter Jr. led the Nuggets to a quick start. Porter hit a couple of his four 3-pointers early, while Jokic got going with a series of scores inside. Jokic finished with 29 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists and two steals in three quarters.

“His fingerprints are all over everything we do,” Malone said. “Offensively, defensively, locker room, culture, huddles, whatever you want to talk about Nikola’s going to be in the mix. He has that kind of impact.”

Porter, the only other Nugget to score more than 13 points, finished with 21 on 13 shots.

“My teammates have been doing a great job of just on-time, on-target passes, making it easy for me to rise up and just feel in rhythm,” Porter said.

Barton finished as the only other starter in double figures with 12 points, while Monte Morris, who has joined the starters since Jamal Murray tore his anterior cruciate ligament, finished with six points and missed most of the second half as a precaution. Malone said he saw Morris grabbing at his hamstring and didn’t want to take any chances given Murray’s status and Denver’s big lead.

“He was just getting a little tight, and I didn’t want to chance it,” Malone said.

The bench got credit for putting the finishing touches on the Rockets, which relied mostly on young players as they rebuild, and not forcing Malone to go back to his starters late. Kelly Olynyk and rookie Jae’Sean Tate led Houston with 23 and 21 points, respectively.

“Every team might look at their record and think it’s going to be a layup night, but they play hard,” Green said. “So our main focus was coming out here and handling business.”

They did that in part thanks to Barton and McGee, who got the night off but provided an assist before the tip.

“I asked JaVale McGee, who’s been on three world championship teams, ‘What do good teams do?’” Malone recalled his second pregame question. “They handle their business, and I thought tonight we were able to do that.”