PHOENIX – Nuggets shooting guard was back with the team on Sunday, but he did not play, opting instead to continue rehabbing his left ankle.
Barton has missed nine games since spraining his ankle against Toronto on Oct. 31. He returned briefly for three games, but after averaging just 6.0 points on 21.4 percent shooting he decided more rehabilitation was needed so he can feel explosive again. Barton missed the Oklahoma City game on Friday for personal reasons, but had he been with the team Nuggets coach Michael Malone said the veteran would not have played.
“His ankle…I think he just doesn’t have any confidence going out there and playing,” Malone said. “He tried to play a few games but didn’t feel that he was able to play his game on the ankle in how it feels right now.”
Meanwhile, veteran forward (sore thigh) warmed up prior to Sunday’s game but could not play. He’s hoping a couple of days off will do some good and that he’ll be ready to play in the Nuggets’ next game on Wednesday.
Forward Juancho Hernangomez suited up but was not inserted into the game. The Nuggets are playing it safe with his sprained right ankle.
“Juancho, I love where his heart is,” Malone said. “He really wants to play. We took a screen shot of his injury in Utah, and it was a lot worse than I realized. It was pretty bad.”
Footnotes. ’s 21 points tied a season high. Coupled with his 21 points against Oklahoma City on Friday, this is the first time he’s had back-to-back 20-point games as a Nugget. … The Nuggets had a season-high 13 3-point makes. Seven different Nuggets made a 3-pointer.
