With no ‘Joker’ in hand, Bulls still can’t overcome champion Nuggets

The runway was cleared for a smooth landing.

With the 6-11 obstacle removed — who just so happens to be one of the best basketball players in the world in Nikola Jokic — all that stood between the Bulls and a fourth victory in the last five games was a “Joker-less” Nuggets squad.

The defending NBA champions, though, still showed they had more than enough to win.

With Reggie Jackson’s 25 points and Denver’s bench outscoring the Bulls 50-23, it was the Nuggets strolling out of the United Center on Tuesday night with a 114-106 win.

Not a good showing for the Bulls, who slipped to 9-16 on the season. But the real sting was the missed opportunity when Jokic was ejected in the second quarter.

“It’s really about the guys that are on the court at that time,” coach Billy Donovan said of the missed opportunity. “We didn’t do enough to win the game. They did, and you give them credit.”

With 1:08 left in the first half, Jokic thought he was fouled and let the officials know about it as he was running up the court. A technical was eventually given, and then all of a sudden he was ejected as the boos from the crowd rang out with many in attendance to watch the two-time MVP.

Jokic finished with four points, nine rebounds and six assists before being ejected.

But a one-technical ejection?

“The official that tossed him, he asked me, ‘Did you hear what was said?’ ” Nuggets coach Mike Malone said of the situation. “I said, ‘I did not.’ He said the language that was used warranted an ejection. A one-tech ejection, which I was very shocked at. And when I heard what he said, I said, ‘I don’t understand the problem because when I grew up that was a term of endearment.’

“Unfortunate for Nikola. He was frustrated, and thought he got fouled there.”

Rather than wilt with their leader gone, however, the Nuggets made it business as usual.

“A character win,” Malone added.

The Bulls did come out for the second half looking like they were going to take advantage of the ejection, with Nikola Vucevic scoring with the baby hook in the paint and then Coby White cutting the lead to just four with his step-back jumper, but a three-pointer and then two free throws from Julian Strawther ended the threat.

That was as close as the Bulls would get in the second half.

Still a no go

Alex Caruso remained sidelined with a sprained left ankle but is progressing toward a return at some point this week.

“I think he has some discomfort with his cutting,” Donovan said. “It’s certainly better as days have gone by. Talking to the medical staff, they didn’t think it was going to stretch into weeks.”

The Bulls now have lost four consecutive games without Caruso.

The other layer to Caruso getting healthy is the ongoing trade speculation about the elite defender. The Sun-Times has reported since last season that Caruso was considered an untouchable piece. That remains true for now. There can always be an offer that the Bulls can’t refuse, but the front office currently has no desire to move Caruso.