After a poor loss vs the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night, the Denver Nuggets did what they often do on the second night of a back-to-back after a loss: bounce back.

The Nuggets defeated the Phoenix Suns 130-112 on Saturday night with both teams flying into Phoenix after a game the night before. The Suns initially looked like they were going to give the Nuggets some issues, but a strong recovery and even better second half gave Denver a 20+ point lead in the fourth quarter.

It really helps that the Nuggets shot a flat out absurd 58% from three (22-of-38) on the night. Tim Hardaway Jr. shot 7-of-11 from distance to go with 23 points and gave the Nuggets bench a leg to stand on in the first half. Jamal Murray also shot 5-of-10 from deep, continuing his aggression from behind the arc. Cam Johnson continues to grow in comfort with 3-of-6 from deep. Nikola Jokic went 2-of-2.

But the real swing factor was Spencer Jones. After going 1-of-5 from three the night before and being benched in the fourth quarter, Jones shot 4-of-6 from distance, setting a new career-high of 16 points to go with nine rebounds, including four on the offensive end. Jones made the Suns pay for leaving him open consistently, especially in the second half to help the Nuggets separate.

Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with 26 points himself, shooting a perfect 7-of-7 from the field, the aforementioned 2-of-2 from deep, and 10-of-11 from the free throw line. With nine rebounds and 10 assists, he was one board away from a triple-double.

After a couple early turnovers, Jokic set the tone for Denver against the defensive coverage the Suns consistently played. Phoenix used Royce O’Neale, Dillon Brooks, and other forwards to guard him and switched everything to keep their centers out of the action. Jokic fought through it, drew fouls, and stayed patient all night.

Jamal Murray had 24 points and made some really impressive plays. He had a couple more turnovers than normal, but Murray made some nice plays as a scorer and rarely let the Suns off the hook with the way they were guarding Jokic. His shooting off the dribble has been extremely impressive, as were the finishes around the basket.

Finally, Bruce Brown deserves a ton of credit for his creation in the second half. He finished the game with just four points and has struggled as a scorer lately, but 10 assists compared to one turnover is a fantastic ratio off Denver’s bench. Murray and Johnson were with Brown in the fourth quarter, but Murray kept passing the ball to Brown and getting him to initiate things. Brown obliged, getting downhill and setting up Jones and Jonas Valanciunas nicely in the quarter.

Was the shooting a bit TOO good tonight? Perhaps. Asking the Nuggets to replicate 58% from three and 95% (20-of-21) from the line would be difficult, but if says a lot about Denver’s mentality on back-to-backs. Denver often struggles when they’re too rested and too loose. When things get difficult and the Nuggets feel like they NEED to win? That’s when the Nuggets ratchet up the focus, and they have a lot of gamers on their roster that come ready to play in these situations.

Overall, the Nuggets are 14-5 through 19 games. Though they’ve had some shaky losses at home here and threr, they’re still on pace for 60 wins. Navigating the absences of Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun (and Julian Strawther for a while) can be difficult. Denver’s making it work though, and they’re figuring out new ways to score and involve Peyton Watson and Spencer Jones, the two starter replacements.

This was a good bounce back after a bad moment. It was good that Denver didn’t let the bad moment spiral too. They have yet to lose two games in a row this season, showing an ability to correct their mistakes and refocus when needed. That’s a good sign for the future.

Next up? A Monday matchup at home vs the Dallas Mavericks before another three-game road trip to the Eastern Conference. I’m sure David Adelman will be thrilled.