DENVER – The timeout Michael Malone called early in the third quarter of Thursday’s blowout at Ball Arena wasn’t about the score but the habits.

On the way to a 122-91 win over the Clippers, the Nuggets led 73-41 early in the third quarter, but that score was a result of giving up nine points in the first 2:20 of the second half, prompting the timeout. The desired result was achieved, as the Nuggets allowed 18 points the rest of the quarter and cruised to victory.

“Right after that timeout, the guys responded,” Malone said.

The night started with a 15-point first quarter from the Clippers. Denver nearly repeated that effort by limiting Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and company to 17 in the second quarter, paving the way to a convincing victory over another contender.

“I love the team, and I love the spot we’re in. We’re all going to keep improving,” Jamal Murray said postgame.

“Wins like this give us a lot of confidence and builds a lot of chemistry. It sets a standard for us.”

The standard dipped early in the third before a timeout helped the starters regain their form for the few minutes of meaningful basketball that remained.

“The simple point was it’s all about creating habits. If you build a lead, you exhale and then you start doing everything opposite of what build the lead, that’s not going to help you come playoff time. It was a simple message – let’s get back to doing the things that allowed us to be up as much as we were,” Malone said.

“We want to create the habits that are going to allow us to win at a high level. I thought once we kind of straightened that out after that timeout, I thought our guys were much better.”

Murray still gearing up, could play Friday

The stars were out Thursday, but that might not be the case Friday.

Murray joined Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon in the starting lineup of Thursday’s game against the Clippers and their two stars – Leonard and George. While Murray played against the Western Conference competition Thursday, Malone didn’t expect Murray to be available for Friday’s game against the Cavaliers during his pregame media availability. The fact that Murray played just over 21 minutes against the Clippers could’ve changed things.

“I do,” Malone answered when asked if he things Murray has a chance to play against Cleveland. “I think tonight definitely helped. I know his goal is he wants to get back to being able to play both nights of a back-to-back.”

Murray, who made 7 of his 10 shots and led the Nuggets with 18 points, called his shot.

“I’ll play,” Murray said, calling it another checked box in his recovery from ACL surgery.

“It’ll be good. I haven’t done that, so just another part of my recovery, part of the rehab that’s going well.”

Whether he plays or not, there’s little doubt he’s still on a journey to reach his pre-injury form.

“Hopefully, the timing can be perfect where, as the playoffs kind of are staring us in our face, we’re getting the best Jamal Murray every single night, the consistency,” Malone said.

The Cavaliers are expected to be without at least one of their stars, as Donovan Mitchell is listed as out for the game against the Nuggets due to rest, while Darius Garland, who’s missed the last three games with a thumb sprain, remains questionable.

Previously when a back-to-back features one game against a conference foe and the other against an Eastern Conference team, as has been the case this week, the Nuggets have seemingly prioritized Murray’s availability against conference foes. Malone said the process in determining which games Murray sits starts with a discussion with the training staff before he runs their suggestions past the player.

“Jamal’s earned a say in everything we do,” Malone said.

Murray’s say might not be strong enough to get him on the court both Thursday and Friday, but there’s a chance. He walked into his postgame press conference with ice wrapped around his knee, his attempt to give himself the best chance to play both ends of a back-to-back for the first time this season.

“Hopefully, tomorrow when he wakes up, he’s feeling pretty good,” Malone said. “If we’re able to play him some tomorrow night, we’ll look forward to it. If he’s not able to, we’ll get him ready for the next one.”

First round of fan voting released

Nikola Jokic can start making plans to be an All-Star starter once again.

When the NBA released the first round of fan voting, which is responsible for 50% of the selection of the starters, Jokic was second among Western Conference forwards and centers with 2,237,768 votes. Lakers forward LeBron James leads the way with just over 3 million votes. A couple of Western Conference guards – Golden State’s Stephen Curry (2.7 million) and Dallas’ Luka Doncic (2.3 million) – also have more votes than Jokic.

Players and a panel of media members each account for 25% of the vote.

The Nuggets have lobbied for Aaron Gordon to be selected for the Feb. 19 All-Star Game in Salt Lake City, but he was not listed among the top 10 vote getters among Western Conference bigs. The next round of fan votes will be released next Thursday.

NUGGETS 122, CLIPPERS 91

What happened: Murray scored 13 of his 18 points in the first quarter, helping the Nuggets to a 17-point advantage to start the second quarter. The Nuggets limited the Clippers to 15 points on 4 of 21 shooting, including a 1-of-11 mark from 3, in the opening period. Denver’s bench stretched the lead to 30 before Nikola Jokic and Murray returned midway through the second quarter. The starters got the lead up to 38 and led 66-32 at halftime.

The Clippers benched their starters to open the third quarter, and the Nuggets extended the lead to 43 in the first five minutes of the second half, and the starters didn’t play the fourth quarter.

The win put the Nuggets at 25-13 on the season, good for a split with Memphis for the best record in the Western Conference.

What went right: Just about everything, as demonstrated by the shooting numbers. The Nuggets shot 50.6% from the field, 38.9% from 3 and made 18 of 21 from the free throw line. The Clippers finished with a 37.4 field-goal percentage, including a 5-of-37 mark from 3. The lopsided score also allowed the end of Denver’s bench to play significant minutes in the second half.

What went wrong: After taking off for another impressive dunk in the first half, Vlatko Cancar had a clear runway for another in the third quarter. Unfortunately, the second-unit forward lost his handle of the ball on the way up, and the ball careened off the backboard. Cancar still finished with a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double.

Highlight of the night: Michael Porter Jr. appears to be getting his bounce back. After a strong drive and finish early in the third, Jokic floated a lob up to the right side of the rim. Porter jumped, caught the alley-oop with his right and hand put down a dunk that put the Nuggets up 84-41 five minutes into the third. In the first few games after returning from his heel injury, it appeared Porter was opting for layups when he could’ve finished with more authority.

On deck: The Nuggets welcome the Cavaliers to Denver for the second night of a back-to-back on Friday at Ball Arena.