NBA Game Preview - Denver at Sacramento

Mon Nov 20, 2017 10:00 PM EST

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The Denver Nuggets are still looking to find the home versions of themselves on the road. A matchup with the Sacramento Kings at the Golden 1 Center may not be the easiest place to do it.

The Nuggets (9-7) limp into Sacramento on Monday on the heels of a 127-109 thrashing by the Lakers in Los Angeles on Sunday. That loss came in the opener of a three-game road trip that also includes a visit to the Western Conference co-leading Houston Rockets.

It also exposed much of what has plagued Denver away from the Mile High City.

The Nuggets turned over the ball 21 times against the Lakers on Sunday and shot only 42.9 percent from the floor. They let the Lakers score 70 points in the opening half and at least 28 points in all four quarters.

"We have not been the same team on the road," Nuggets coach Michael Malone told the Denver Post before the road trip started. "That's our challenge moving forward. Good teams protect their home court. But good teams also find a way to win on the road, and that's something we have yet to really do consistently."

Denver has averaged 17.6 turnovers and 40.7 percent shooting in its five road losses. The Nuggets are averaging 15.0 turnovers in their seven road games overall.

The latest long night on the road included the ejection of Malone and center Nikola Jokic, plus an injury to forward Paul Millsap.

Malone, the former Kings head coach, stepped onto the court during play to argue a no-call on a play by Jokic around the basket in the second quarter. Jokic got tossed when he joined the argument.

Millsap left in the second quarter with a sprained left wrist, and he is unlikely to play against Sacramento.

The Kings have many issues, but winning on their home court hasn't been one of them. Sacramento has won three consecutive games at home, and a victory against Denver would give the Kings their longest home winning streak in two seasons since moving out of Sleep Train Pavilion.

Sacramento plays four of its next five at home, and the intensity the Kings showed in the previous three -- and in a 102-90 loss at Portland on Saturday -- is what coach Dave Joerger is seeking.

"If you keep chipping away, and that becomes the standard you play at, we will see improvement, Joerger told the Sacramento Bee. "And also start getting a reputation with other players in the league. You start gaining respect from other players by how hard you play."

Center Willie Cauley-Stein scored a combined 40 points and grabbed 19 rebounds over Sacramento's past two games after averaging 8.2 points and 5.6 rebounds over the first 14.

"That's a challenge for us, playing with high energy, winning or losing, still staying on that and still going tough," Cauley-Stein told the Bee. "Because every night, we have to play our best to give us a chance to win."

Point guard Buddy Hield missed Sacramento's loss in Portland with a sprained right ankle, and he is questionable to play against Denver.