The Nuggets avoided the Rocky Mountain cold this weekend by escaping to Florida, and they picked up two wins while they were away.

They’ll return to Denver to host the 76ers on Tuesday after a 113-100 win over the Magic on Sunday.

Nikola Jokic amassed 20 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists, three steals and three blocks in three quarters, his impressive efficiency against Wendell Carter Jr. and Jonathan Isaac allowing him to rest the final frame. Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. combined for 34 points, both getting hot in the third as Denver (26-16) pulled away.

Reuniting with KCP

DeAndre Jordan took advantage of an opportunity to celebrate in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s face during the second quarter. Jamal Murray, running in transition, pulled up at the 3-point line and missed off the front of the rim. Jordan snatched the rebound over his former teammate and dunked on him with authority.

Denver’s backup center screamed with a little extra gusto at Caldwell-Pope, who looked like he was trying to hold back laughter while asking the closest official for a foul. Nearby, Watson made a “too small” hand gesture.

The competitiveness between Caldwell-Pope and the Nuggets was all in good fun, following a series of warm greetings before the opening tip. It was the first time KCP has faced his former team since signing a three-year, $66 million deal with the Magic last summer, ending a two-season stint in Denver during which he won his second career championship.

The 31-year-old guard scored 12 points, but it took a 4-for-14 game to get there. Orlando is the worst 3-point shooting team in the league by a sizable 3% margin, and the loss to Denver reflected that. Despite a hot start and a brief 10-point lead, the Magic wrapped up the night 29% from the perimeter on 41 attempts.

Ball Arena will welcome Caldwell-Pope back on Feb. 6.

Nuggets’ new fifth starter

Meanwhile, Caldwell-Pope’s replacement in the Denver starting lineup had an exceptional showing in Orlando. Christian Braun went for 20 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and a block. It was his sixth career 20-point game and his second this week.

All 15 of Braun’s games with more than 15 points this season have come on 50% shooting or better. In those 10 of those performances, he has shot 60% or better. The 23-year-old was 6 for 10 against the Magic, gashing a top-three defense in transition and consistently getting to the foul line.

Braun made all seven free-throw attempts in the win, and the Nuggets made 26 of 31, embracing the physicality of an Orlando game. They’re second in the league in free-throw attempts per game this season with 24.

Watson’s highlight head injury

After a 15-game blocked shot streak ended in Miami, Peyton Watson swatted with a vengeance in Orlando. But his third block of the first half and 50th of the season came at a cost. Cole Anthony tried to climb the ladder on him after Orlando won a jump ball in a 49-49 game, and Watson ascended with textbook verticality to deny him. The cherry on top was a ricochet off Anthony before the ball went out of bounds.

But Watson’s head snapped back as he crash-landed on his back, forcing him to take his time getting up from the baseline. The young forward went to the locker room accompanied by trainers and was evaluated as questionable to return with a head contusion. He didn’t return in the second half.

Watson blocked 88 shots last season, ranking 14th in the league despite his limited minutes off the bench. With 28 blocks in the last 17 games, he’s now up to 14th again with 50 this season. What makes it impressive is that each of the top 13 are 6-foot-10 or taller; Watson is listed as 6-7.

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DALLAS — Jamal Murray has a tendency to make situations more difficult on himself.

When he slithers around a ball screen from Nikola Jokic or isolates in open space, his instinct and his dribble often compel him inside the 3-point arc, where contested jump shots are considered equally challenging but less valuable.

When he was a rising prospect in high school, “at first he would make 100 free throws every day,” his former coach Larry Blunt recalled. “And then it got to the point when he would make 100 straight, so he would try to do it with his eyes closed.”

And when he signed the most lucrative contract of his life before this season, the Nuggets guard proceeded to get off to perhaps the slowest start of an NBA career that was already rife with slow starts.

But Murray’s defining trait as a basketball player is his masterful ability to make high-difficulty shots, and by the same token, he also has a propensity for dragging himself out of slumps. His newest obstacle has been less about shooting percentages and more about coming to terms with $209 million worth of scrutiny.

“I’m totally ready for it,” Murray said. “That’s why I literally signed up for it.”

As he finished treatment for a sore knee and returned to an empty locker room late Tuesday night in Dallas, Murray struck a tone noticeably different from the indignant one he had taken three weeks earlier, when a similar scoring performance (34 points against Detroit) had all the makings of a breakout moment. He made a statement with his words that night, entering the Ball Arena press room combatively trash-talking critics before sitting down for postgame questions.

This time, after his 45-point statement for a national TV audience, he reflected on his roller-coaster half-season with a look inward.

“I guarantee I’m talking worse to myself than anybody will,” he said. “I expect a lot better of myself.”

Murray is still determined to prove doubters wrong and harsh narratives premature — a motivational trope as old as time — but as that mission gains traction, he’s feeling more at peace with the criticism he has faced online and in the media this season. Even as his coach grows more and more adamant that it’s overstated and unwarranted.

“I think the microscope on Jamal is a little intense,” an agitated Michael Malone said on Tuesday. “Everybody’s just gotta kind of let the kid breathe a little bit. He’s not perfect. And if you look, I think his overall stats as of recently (have) been very good for us. And he’s out there battling.

“Jamal didn’t pay himself $(52) million (per year). We did that as an organization because we believe in him.”

But as Murray himself pointed out, the four-year, $208.5 million max extension he signed last September “comes with great responsibility.” He has accepted that a bigger paycheck means louder judgment.

“I think I deserve it, to a certain extent,” the 27-year-old said. “So I’m not gonna complain about it. And that’s what people do. They’re gonna talk about what they see. And if they don’t see me performing the way they want me to perform as a fan, they’re gonna let me hear it, or tweet about it or whatever they’re doing. … I mean, I admit I haven’t been playing well. So it’s not like it’s a surprise to me to hear it from everybody else if I’m saying it as well.”

Even so, “it sucks” to deal with, he acknowledged, especially when context such as his recent left knee pain goes ignored. That’s where Malone comes in. He has encouraged Murray and other players this season to avoid internet commentary about them, but it’s a looming specter that he recognizes as unavoidable in many cases for younger generations.

“I can tell guys, ‘Hey, don’t go on social media.’ They’re going to,” he said. “… I’m not gonna be that coach that passes around a box before the game and says ‘Everybody put your cellphone in here.’ These are grown men.”

In the meantime, he’s content to be the guy who adds context to Murray’s circumstances.

The discrepancy between their attitudes in Dallas illuminated a unique dynamic that has developed between them over nine years. Malone gets caught up in the competitive emotions of a game when he’s on the sideline, but he also knows his star point guard to be resilient when shown support and encouragement. When Malone’s in front of a microphone, he’s intentional about being Murray’s most steadfast defender.

“Hopefully it doesn’t have to come to that point,” Murray sheepishly told The Denver Post when asked about the coach’s public loyalty.

“I always talk about the chemistry that we have (as players),” he went on to say. “It’s from the coaching staff, too. When you have the same coaching staff for so many years and the same core for so many years, that helps out. We’ve been a connected group. They know what I’m capable of. The team knows what I’m capable of. Even if I’m struggling, they encourage me. They support me. And that’s really all I need.”

In Malone’s latest defense, he implored people to note the numbers beyond one 45-point night. Murray went into Denver’s road trip this weekend averaging 21.1 points and 5.9 assists in 20 games since the start of December, on 45% shooting from the 3-point line. There’s still lots of room for his 3-point volume to increase, but Malone also understands the pursuit of a confident Murray involves balancing that directive with giving him the freedom to hunt shots where he’s most comfortable. Often, that’s the midrange.

“It’s interesting because the midrange shot has become, like, taboo in the league,” Malone said. “It’s only about layups and 3s. And for us, we’re kind of different from everybody else. We do things our way. … And when you have two really good midrange shooters in Jamal and Nikola, you’re not gonna take that away from them. And Jamal has a knack for taking and making some really tough shots. Obviously, are they sometimes high degree of difficulty or semi-contested? Yes, they are. … Most importantly for me is just Jamal being aggressive. Good things happen when he is aggressive.”

Murray, when asked about his shot selection, told The Post that “sometimes, yeah, I could have shot (the three). Sometimes I could have drove it. It just depends on how I’m feeling. … Sometimes it’s the space I have.”

Then, with a nod to his skeptics, he pointed out: “If I make it, nobody says anything.”

The story of Denver’s first half of the season was the new level of dominance achieved by Jokic. More specifically, it was the questionable sustainability of that dominance.

No 30-point-per-game scorer has won the NBA championship since Michael Jordan in 1996, and no championship-winning team since the 1996 Bulls has had a gap of 10 or more points between its two leading scorers in the regular season. When the Nuggets won the title in 2023, the gap between Jokic and Murray was 4.5 points.

The current difference between them is 10.8 — but it’s inching down from 14.5 on Dec. 12. “We want to help with the scoring load,” Murray said in Dallas.

Murray made it hard on himself with a slow start that invited a chorus of criticism. But as usual, he’s pretty good at playing from behind.

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The son of former USC and NBA guard Harold Miner is coming on strong during his senior season for the Sea Hawks.

By DAVE SKRETTA

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Patrick Mahomes has never lost in the divisional round of the playoffs with the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Houston Texans still have never won.

With the Chiefs’ star quarterback hitting best buddy Travis Kelce seven times for 117 yards and a touchdown and a pass rush that dragged Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud to the ground eight times, Kansas City rolled to a 23-14 victory Saturday that sent the two-time defending Super Bowl champions to the AFC title game for the seventh consecutive season.

The Chiefs are the fourth team in NFL history to follow back-to-back Lombardi Trophies by advancing to the conference title game, and the three previous lost. They will try to change that at Arrowhead Stadium next weekend against the Bills or Ravens, who play on Sunday in Buffalo for a shot at dethroning the defending champs.

“It’s been a special run,” said Mahomes, whose wife, Brittany, gave birth to their third child last Sunday. “I still remember moments from the World Series my dad played when I was 5 years old. These are the moments that I’ll cherish my entire life.”

The run isn’t over yet, though. Not with the Chiefs (16-2), cheered on once more by Kelce’s girlfriend Taylor Swift and WNBA star Caitlin Clark, chasing an unprecedented third straight Lombardi Trophy.

Mahomes, who threw for 177 yards and a score, improved 16-3 in the postseason, tying Joe Montana for the second-most wins by a starting QB in NFL history behind Tom Brady. That includes his peerless 7-0 mark in divisional playoff games.

Meanwhile, Mahomes and Kelce helped Andy Reid become just the fourth coach in NFL history with 300 career wins.

“I joked to the guys, you know, you get a couple of more and you might be able to equal my weight,” Reid said.

There was plenty of joking in the Kansas City locker room Saturday night. Not a whole lot in the Texans’ locker room. They still have never won in six divisional games, twice losing to Kansas City in devastating fashion.

Stroud threw for 245 yards but was sacked eight times, while Joe Mixon — who had been questionable to play with an ankle injury — ran for 88 yards and their only touchdown.

Texans kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn missed a 55-yard field goal attempt, a PAT try and had another field-goal attempt blocked with 1:46 left, which would have kept their comeback hopes alive by making it a one-possession game.

“Knowing what we were up against in this game, we can’t make the mistakes that we made,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “We had a lot of self-inflicted mistakes that happened, whether it was special teams not converting, defensively not being where we’re supposed to be in coverage, offensively not protecting our quarterback and keeping him clean.

“On top of everything else we have to deal with,” Ryans added, “that’s going to be an uphill battle.”

The Texans’ special teams were a mess right from the start. The Chiefs nearly opened the game with a kick return touchdown, a bizarre play that ended with Houston cornerback Kris Boyd nearly shoving his own assistant coach to the ground.

The Texans held Kansas City to a couple of field goals early, but their defense was unable to stop them late in the first half, when the bruising Kareem Hunt barreled into the end zone to give the AFC West champions a 13-3 lead.

Houston managed a 48-yard field goal through cold, swirling winds to make it a one-possession game at the break, and that late kick seemed to have revived the AFC South champions when they returned to the field for the second half.

Stroud deftly led a 15-play, 82-yard drive that soaked up most of the third quarter, picking up four third-down conversions, including one in which the QB scrambled to the sideline and absorbed a wicked hit. Mixon finished the drive with a 13-yard run, only to watch Fairbairn’s extra point that would have tied the game get blown wide right.

That miss just might have swung the momentum the other way.

Just as they have so often in winning their last eight playoff games, the Chiefs responded with a time-consuming drive of their own. Mahomes connected with Kelce four times on the 81-yard march, including the 11-yard touchdown pass to his trusty tight end as the two-time NFL MVP was getting dragged to the turf by Houston’s Mario Edwards Jr.

“I thought it was going to be an interception,” Hunt said.

The Texans had two opportunities to drive for a tying touchdown. The first ended when Stroud was sacked by George Karlaftis on fourth down near midfield with about 10 minutes left. The second was stopped when Stroud misfired on back-to-back passes and Houston was forced to punt with just over seven minutes to go.

Kansas City proceeded to drive inside the Texans 10, and Harrison Butker’s field goal with 4:32 left put the game away.

“We’re fortunate we’ve got a lot of great character guys in the building,” Kelce said. “On top of that, as the years have gone on, we only got here by focusing on the task at hand. And right now, this one was great. We’re going to enjoy this one tonight. But the task at hand is going to be that AFC championship.

“You don’t you don’t get a three-peat by looking past that.”

Injuries

Texans: LB Azeez Al-Shaair hurt his knee in the first half. He had been questionable to play with a knee injury.

Chiefs: SS Bryan Cook missed most of the first half while being evaluated for a concussion, but returned. … FS Justin Reid took a hard blow to the head breaking up a pass in the fourth quarter, but stayed in.

Up next

The Chiefs host the AFC title game a week from Sunday for the sixth time in seven years. They’ll play either the Bills, one of two teams to beat them in the regular season, or the Ravens, who lost in Kansas City in Week 1.

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

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To reach a stage that is bigger, Bo Nix has to play better.

It remains a critical component as the Broncos aim to move from a playoff team to a Super Bowl contender. From his work ethic to his mindset, everything suggests Nix will improve.

He is determined to exhaust all options this offseason — talking to Drew Brees and Peyton Manning, for instance — to take the next step forward. Like his team, he is hardly satisfied with a playoff appearance.

But to participate on this NFL weekend in 2026, Nix will have to rank among the top eight quarterbacks. For the sake of argument, who could he replace among those still playing?

All of the remaining quarterbacks are first-round picks, save for Jalen Hurts, who was a second-round selection. Four have reached the Super Bowl, and Patrick Mahomes and Matthew Stafford have won it.

Of the list, it is not hard to see Nix passing Houston’s C.J. Stroud and Hurts. Stroud shows the danger of linear projection. He regressed in his sophomore season as his top receivers missed chunks of time. Nix and Hurts are not dissimilar statistically, and Hurts drives home the point of why coach Sean Payton must involve Nix in the running attack more. Nix finished with 430 yards and four touchdowns rushing. A four-game stretch in November and December drained his total as he rushed for 9 yards, partly because of a back issue.

Hurts logged 630 yards and 14 scores on the ground. But Nix was responsible for 34 total touchdowns, compared to Hurts’ 32. The disparity was greater with Stroud, who was only responsible for 23 TDs. So the idea that Nix would be better than either one next season is hardly a stretch.

One rookie remains in the field, Washington marvel Jayden Daniels. And the reasons why should be instructive to Nix. Daniels is a magician on fourth down and in the fourth quarter. Winning on money downs is part of Nix’s evolution. With better weapons around him — preferably a pass-catching tight end and dynamic running back — Nix will still be playing this time next postseason.

Sutton Sours: Courtland Sutton has posted sweet numbers the past two seasons. Now, he has his own candy. In partnership with Colorado Candy Company and Sporty Sweets, the Broncos receiver is launching Sutton Sours on Saturday. It is described as a tangy treat available at select retailers and online at sportysweets.com.

Jokic 50-50: We continue to learn new things about the greatest basketball player in the world. Appearing on Fan Duel’s NBA show “Run it Back,” Nuggets backup center DeAndre Jordan revealed that Nikola Jokic has a favorite song when not listening to Serbian music. His tune? “Many Men” by rapper 50 Cent. “He knows the words from start to finish. That is his song, man. He loves it.”

Casey not at-bat: The Avs’ Casey Mittelstadt remains in a disturbing slump, creating speculation that the team might consider trading the forward it acquired a year ago. He has 13 points over the past three months. The Avs will likely exercise patience, but it is something to monitor.

Mail Time

Your (column) about Bo Nix turning the Broncos into Super Bowl contenders next year was premature. The Broncos have eight games next year against playoff teams. You’ve obviously drank the Kool-Aid. A bit of pragmatism would be refreshing when writing about the Broncos’ future.

— Glenn, Vallejo, email

Glenn’s not going to like the lead of this column either, is he? I understand the pushback. And my bullish nature on Nix comes with an asterisk: He needs upgraded playmakers. But I don’t buy into the schedule issue. Teams rarely stay the same year over year, and it all depends on when you face an opponent because of injuries. Even if the Broncos match their 10-win 2024 season, they will be more dangerous in the playoffs.

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Brayden Miner, the son of former NBA dunk champion Harold Miner, scored 18 points in Redondo Union's 76-64 win over Mira Costa.

In Miami, the sheen of a 2023 NBA Finals run has long since worn off. It has been replaced by an ongoing public feud between Heat team president Pat Riley and star forward Jimmy Butler, who’s trying to force himself into a new team before the trade deadline.

The Nuggets rolled into town at a critical moment in the soap opera Friday, defeating the Heat 133-113 in Butler’s first game back from a seven-game suspension imposed by Riley for conduct detrimental to the team.

Jamal Murray went for 30 points (20 in the first half), seven rebounds and eight assists, and the Nuggets (25-16) reached the halfway point of the season on a pace for 50 wins.

Sleeved up Joker

After an alarming last-minute injury scratch from the lineup on Wednesday, Nikola Jokic was able to play with a sprained right elbow in Miami. It did not seem to bother him. He completed his 16th triple-double of the season late in the third quarter with one of his most delicious highlights of the year.

It started with a rebound by Peyton Watson and an outlet pass over the top of the defense to Jokic, who was under hot pursuit from Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Serbian teammate Nikola Jovic. Immediately after catching the deep ball, Jokic blindly flipped the ball back over his head into open space, past the two unsuspecting Heat players. Aaron Gordon fielded the pass in stride and threw down a tomahawk dunk.

Jokic finished with 24 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. And he did it while sporting an unusual accessory. Last season, he told The Denver Post that he doesn’t use an arm sleeve partially so that when opponents claw at him, “I can complain to the refs, ‘Ah, look! It’s a scratch!’”

But injuries call for preventative measures. Wearing a sleeve, Jokic unleashed two elite swing passes in the first quarter to set up Denver 3s. He got past Bam Adebayo with a filthy drop-step for a layup. And he earned a seat on the bench for the entire fourth quarter after the no-look pass to Gordon and a subsequent 3-pointer of his own.

P-Swat replaced by P-Dot

The setup to Jokic’s fabulous 10th assist might not make the SportsCenter clip, but it was almost as impressive. Watson delivered the kind of daring Hail Mary that Jokic usually flings to him with equal precision.

It was just one of several impressive dimes by the young wing. Watson’s night wasn’t heavy on stats, but it showcased his touch as a passer, which has been coming along recently. He also had a behind-the-back assist and a perfectly dotted entry pass to Jokic, who flipped to Christian Braun for a layup. Watson now has 30 assists in his last 16 games, which is notable for a role player who doesn’t have the ball in his hands often.

Watson also arrived in Miami with a streak of 15 consecutive games with a blocked shot, the second-longest such streak in the NBA behind Victor Wembanyama, but it came to an end in the win.

Guarding the perimeter

The Nuggets held Miami to a 9-for-33 night beyond the arc, continuing a recent trend of improved 3-point defense. In January, Denver’s opponents are attempting 35.2 outside shots per game, which is down considerably from 39.1 at the start of the new year.

Murray was engaged defensively, adding three steals and a block to his latest impressive stat line. Christian Braun contained all-star candidate Tyler Herro, whose 22 points came on 2-for-7 shooting from three. And Butler was semi-quiet in his return, scoring 18 points on 15 shots.

The Nuggets are now 14-0 this season when they lead at halftime, and they’ve beaten the Heat in 10 consecutive regular-season matchups, not to mention the 4-1 series win in the 2023 Finals.

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This probably wasn’t a season destined for history. Not like last year, when the Colorado men’s basketball program set a team record with 26 victories, won a pair of games at the NCAA Tournament, and sent three players into the NBA Draft.

As it turns out, the Buffaloes are indeed trending toward history. But it’s the sort they’d prefer avoiding.

The only winless, 0-5 team within the Big 12 Conference, CU will look to avoid the program’s second 0-6 start within league play over the past 37 seasons when it renews a conference rivalry at Oklahoma State on Saturday afternoon.

Certainly there have been other conference struggles during that 37-season span. Three consecutive CU teams from 2006-07 (1-7 Big 12 start), 2007-08 (1-7 Big 12 start) and 2008-09 (1-15 finish in Big 12), all posted ugly marks in conference play, yet all three of those teams managed to earn wins within the first five league games. None of them started 0-5, like this year’s team.

The only other CU squad since 1987-88 to start at least 0-6 in league play was the Derrick White-led team of 2016-17, which started 0-7 in the Pac-12. But that group still featured a veteran-heavy lineup with two future NBA draft picks (White and George King), and it managed to finish the regular season 8-3 and sneak into the NIT.

The likelihood of what has looked like an overmatched Buffs club in Big 12 games pulling off a similar rally seems less likely with every exasperating defeat. Particularly since a handful of winnable games already have slipped away, while many of the Big 12’s heavyweights are still ahead on the schedule.

Head coach Tad Boyle continued to applaud his team’s focus and resiliency. The Buffs might be mistake-prone, but they aren’t getting blown out and have put themselves in position to win four of the five Big 12 games.

“They’re competing. They’re playing hard. We’re coming up a little bit short,” Boyle said. “We’ve got character on this team, so I believe in these guys still. The last three games could’ve gone either way. They didn’t go our way. They didn’t go our way because we didn’t make them go our way. We’re not consistent enough at the things we need to be consistent at to win games.

“But I like this team. I think we’ve got a lot of good players that maybe right now aren’t playing up to their potential. But that’s my job as a coach, to get the most out of them and keep working.”

Wednesday’s loss against Cincinnati marked game No. 16 for CU, the halfway point of a season with 31 regular season games and at least one more in the Big 12 tournament. Already halfway through January as well as a quarter of the league schedule, the Buffs should be in desperation mode.

Play well, and the Buffs have an opportunity to end their drought. Lose against Oklahoma State, which has a home victory against Kansas State to its credit, and CU will have to try to pick up that elusive win against much more daunting competition, beginning next week with a home game against a tough BYU squad followed by a road trip to a suddenly resurgent Arizona.

“It would be a big step in the right direction for us, to get a win under our belts and get on track,” CU guard Julian Hammond III said. “Our schedule does get a lot harder, but we can’t worry about who we’re playing and stuff like that. We’ve just got to go out there and win games.”

CU Buffs men’s basketball at Oklahoma State Cowboys

TIPOFF: Saturday, 1 p.m., Gallagher-Iba Arena, Stillwater, Okla.

TV/RADIO: ESPN+/KOA 850 AM and 94.1 FM.

RECORDS: Colorado 9-7, 0-5 Big 12 Conference; Oklahoma State 9-7, 1-4.

COACHES: Colorado — Tad Boyle, 15th season (307-190, 363-256 overall). Oklahoma State — Steve Lutz, 1st season (9-7, 78-42 overall).

KEY PLAYERS: Colorado — G Julian Hammond III, 6-2, Sr. (13.7 ppg, 3.3 apg, 2.8 rpg, .403 3%); F Andrej Jakimovski, 6-8, Gr. (10.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg); C Elijah Malone, 6-10, Gr. (10.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg, .610 FG%); F Trevor Baskin, 6-9, Gr. (9.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg, .527 FG%); G RJ Smith, 6-3, R-So. (7.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.3 apg, .490 3%); F Bangot Dak, 6-11, So. (6.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg, .494 FG%); F Assane Diop, 6-8, So. (4.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg). Oklahoma State — F Abou Ousmane, 6-10, Gr. (12.6 ppg, 5.9 rpg, .533 FG%); F Marchelus Avery, 6-8, Gr. (12.0 ppg, 5.1 rpg); G Bryce Thompson, 6-6, Gr. (10.3 ppg, 2.6 rpg); G Brandon Newman, 6-5, Gr. (7.1 ppg, 3.0 rpg, .360 3%); G Khalil Brantley, 6-1, Sr. (7.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg); F Robert Jennings II, 6-7, Jr. (6.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg).

NOTES: This will be the 110th meeting between the programs, with Oklahoma State leading the series 61-48. … The teams have met just once since CU’s last stint in the Big 12 ended after the 2010-11 season. OSU posted a 78-73 win on Dec. 21, 2013 in Las Vegas. … Boyle used his sixth different starting lineup in 16 games during Wednesday’s loss against Cincinnati. Boyle used six in 37 games last year, despite injuries that scuttled the rotation throughout an NCAA Tournament run. … Lutz took over the Oklahoma State program this season after leading three consecutive NCAA Tournament runs — twice at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and again last year at Western Kentucky. … The Cowboys are 6-1 at home, suffering their only loss against then-No. 14 Houston. … CU returns home for a late-night matchup against BYU on Tuesday (9 p.m., ESPNU).

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid will miss the team’s upcoming road trip after experiencing increased swelling in his left knee after a workout Thursday, the team announced, meaning Embiid will not play in Denver for the fifth consecutive season.

The Nuggets and Sixers are set to play next Tuesday (8 p.m. MT) in a nationally televised game (TNT) at Ball Arena.

Embiid has missed 26 of Philadelphia’s 39 games this season, most recently due to a left foot sprain that was healing as the swelling in his knee occurred. He will be re-evaluated in seven to 10 days, according to the 76ers’ statement Friday. The Nuggets will visit Philadelphia on Jan. 31.

The last time Embiid played in Denver was Nov. 8, 2019. Since then, he and Nuggets center Nikola Jokic have battled for MVP votes on an annual basis. Jokic won the award in 2021 and 2022, with Embiid finishing as the runner-up both years. Jokic was the runner-up to Embiid in 2023, but he reclaimed the trophy last season while injuries derailed Embiid’s campaign.

Through those years, Nuggets fans have grown increasingly embittered by Embiid’s absences in Denver, where the teams meet once every season. One fan’s “missing person” sign with Embiid’s face on it became an emblem of local efforts to mock the Philadelphia superstar. Last season, he was a last-minute scratch at Ball Arena because of knee soreness, prompting Nuggets coach Michael Malone to question whether the 76ers violated the NBA’s Player Participation Policy.

“I don’t know how you go from being active, available, to out. And I’m sure the league will do their due diligence, because that’s frowned upon,” Malone said. “And we’ve had situations this year where we talked to the league, and they told us if a player goes from being active to out, there’s going to be an investigation. So I’m sure that’ll happen. And I’m sure that Joel, he hurt his knee in the (previous) game. Like, that’s real. … I’m sure he is hurt.”

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