MINNEAPOLIS — Danilo Gallinari’s inactivity following knee surgery hasn’t affected his foul shooting.
Before Monday’s game against Minnesota at the Target Center, the Nuggets’ forward shot free throws for the first time since he had surgery Dec. 24 to .
“I shot 50 and I made 50,” said Gallinari, who has a career percentage of 84.6 from the foul line. “That’s normal for me. I’m a pretty good free-throw shooter.”
Gallinari is hoping to return to action sometime in late January.
“In my mind, maybe two weeks,” Gallinari said. “That’s what I’m thinking. But I’m not sure. Maybe it will be three weeks.”
Gallinari said he’s taking “little steps” to get back. He said next up will be doing some work in the weight room and then running on the court.
Gallinari sustained a torn left anterior cruciate ligament in April 2013 that resulted him in missing all of last season. He played 24 games his season before injuring his other knee and averaged 7.8 points per game, not even half the career-high of 16.1 he put up in 2012-13.
“At the start of the season, I was starting to get the rust off,” Gallinari said. “It was tough. When you don’t play basketball for 19 months, it’s not an easy process.”
At least Gallinari’s free-throw stroke is still there. He’s shooting 87.9 percent this season.
