A little extra bulk bolstered the Nuggets’ bench in Tuesday’s In-Season Tournament win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

After Jamal Murray’s hamstring strain moved Reggie Jackson from back-up point guard to starter, coach Michael Malone elevated Collin Gillespie into the rotation for the first few games. That changed Wednesday, as Malone gave fellow rookie Jalen Pickett the first meaningful minutes of his career.

The decision was made after Sunday’s 107-104 loss to Houston when Gillespie scored six of Denver’s eight points off the bench.

“We went through the scout, and I was in the second group,” Pickett said in the locker room following Denver’s 111-108 win over the Clippers.

“I went a little harder, because I knew I was going to play. So, I knew if I got in and got a shot, you know I had to make it.”

Pickett made two of his three shots, including a 3-pointer, and finished with five points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal. While the numbers are comparable to Gillespie’s last game, the bench unit as a whole performed better, helping the Nuggets to a 2-0 record to start the NBA’s new competition.

Christian Braun led the reserves with 10 points on six shots, while Peyton Watson and Zeke Nnaji finished with four and three points, respectively.

“They were really good. Give Jalen Pickett credit, man,” Malone said. “That’s a tough first game to play against a team like that. They’ve got a lot of ball hawks. They had Terance Mann on him, just pressuring him up the court, but he went out there and did his job.”

Listed at 6-foot-2 and just over 200 pounds, Pickett has an extra inch and a handful more pounds on his frame than Gillespie. That small difference has extra importance given that Denver’s bench unit has switched every screen for most of this season. That means back-up center Zeke Nnaji can end up on a guard, while Pickett or other guards must hold their own in the post.

“If we can switch one through five and keep people shooting jump shots, I think that’s going to be the best part for our defense,” Pickett said.

Pickett’s lone steal came when Russell Westbrook tried to back the Penn State product down in the post. When Pickett held his ground, the veteran tried to lob a pass over the top only for Pickett to deflect it to Jokic, who was impressed with the rookie after his first game.

“He did a good job. It’s a really hard team to debut (against) … because they have really good on-ball defenders,” Jokic said. “Westbrook, (Terance) Mann, PG (Paul George), Kawhi (Leonard), they are really good on one-on-one coverage. Maybe we needed to help him a little bit more, but I think overall he did a good job. Yes, maybe he had a couple of turnovers, but I think he didn’t panic.”

It wasn’t perfect by any means. Pickett did commit two turnovers, and the Nuggets lost Pickett’s 17 minutes by four points. But he provided a different look for a bench unit that’s searching for answers during Murray’s absence.

“No knock on Collin, because he’s not weak, but Jalen is a very strong, physical guard. They tried to go at him in the post a few times. I actually thought he played good post defense against the likes of a Kawhi or a Paul George,” Malone said.

“The one thing you love about Jalen and Collin, for that fact, is they’re not going to back down. Both are really tough kids. It was great to get Jalen out there in real game minutes. I thought he responded and played well.”