NEW YORK >> After eight games in an unfamiliar bench role, it was time for Aaron Gordon to shed his minutes restriction and rejoin the starting lineup. The pain in his right calf had subsided. He was ready to resume his usual responsibilities.

But his health dominoed into a difficult choice for Nuggets coach Michael Malone.

Denver is keeping Russell Westbrook in the starting five and moving Christian Braun to the bench. Malone says the lineup change isn’t necessarily permanent, “but that’s the decision we made for the time being, and we’re going to give it a chance to see where it goes.”

Braun, 23, began the season as Denver’s new starting two-guard, but Malone informed him Wednesday morning in New York of his plan for the rotation going forward.

“Never an easy decision. Christian Braun has been great for us this year. Not good. He’s been great,” Malone said after debuting the new lineup in a 122-112 loss to the Knicks. “And he’s done everything that’s been asked of him. But I just like keeping Russell out there.

“I think the Russ-and-Nikola (Jokic) dynamic is the best two-man combination in the NBA right now, and I didn’t want to disrupt their rhythm. Knowing that CB, whether he comes off the bench and plays 29 minutes like he did tonight or he starts, he’s going to give us the same thing every night. We need that. … I applaud CB’s understanding of what we’re trying to do.”

Westbrook has assisted Jokic on 107 made baskets this season, tied for the most assists between any duo in the NBA. San Antonio’s Chris Paul and Victor Wembanyama are even with them, but in 93 more minutes of playing time together.

When Westbrook and Jokic are on the floor together, the Nuggets have an 11.4 net rating, ranking fifth in the NBA among all two-man combinations with 800 or more minutes played. Jokic and Braun rank sixth, with an 11.3 net together.

“Whatever I’m called to do, that’s what I’ve gotta do for this team,” Braun said at Madison Square Garden. “Obviously I took a lot of pride in having that spot, trying to win that spot, and I’m going to work to try to get it back. That’s my job. That’s what I want. But whether I’m coming off the bench or starting, I’m very grateful for every opportunity I get from top to bottom. So just gotta work to get that back. … Everybody in the NBA wants to start. They’re going to continue to give me minutes. They’re going to continue to give me opportunities. I’ve just gotta do the most with what I get.”

Braun was fresh off a career-high 28-point game (Monday at Chicago) when he received the news. A rookie when the Nuggets won their first-ever NBA championship in 2023, he has made impressive strides in his third professional season, averaging 14.3 points. As of Thursday, he and Giannis Antetokounmpo were the only players in the league averaging five or more fast-break points per game.

“(Malone’s) message to me was just, it wasn’t anything that I did,” Braun said. “It wasn’t a punishment or anything like that. He said he just feels like that was best for us, and that’s all right.”

“He handled it well,” Malone said. “I don’t know if he’s had many downs in the NBA. He’s only been in the league three years, and he’s been in the rotation since his rookie year. But he’s a team player. Was he celebrating? Was he shaking his pom-poms? No, of course. He’s a competitor. He wants to be out there. He wants to start. But what you love about Christian Braun is, he’s going to do whatever you ask him to do and whatever is best for the team.”

The Nuggets (28-19) signed Westbrook last offseason to be a sixth man and a spark plug, but they have used him as a spot starter when both Gordon and Jamal Murray have been injured. The 36-year-old guard is averaging 13.2 points and 6.4 assists, finishing at a career-high rate of 54.7% on shots inside the arc. He’s also 33.7% from the 3-point line (45.2% from the corners), his highest clip since his 2016-17 MVP season. Westbrook, who declined to speak to reporters Wednesday, has three triple-doubles since joining the Nuggets, bringing his NBA-record total to 202.

Braun and Westbrook have alternated defensive assignments against star guards while they’ve both been in the starting unit. With Braun moving to the bench, Westbrook is expected to take on the toughest backcourt matchup nightly.

When Gordon first returned from his right calf strain earlier in January, Malone told him he would be coming off the bench temporarily, to which Gordon responded that he would be willing to continue even once fully healthy, if that would help the team. Malone has praised his selflessness and productivity with the second unit, but recent conversations between Malone, Gordon and Nuggets VP of sports medicine Steve Short illuminated that it was time to return Gordon to the starting lineup.

“Feeling that we could get him over 30 minutes, and if that’s the case, then he can go back to becoming our starting power forward,” Malone said. “He’s been our starting power forward since day one. He was our power forward when we won a championship. And it’s good to have him back out there.”

That leaves Braun as one of the leaders on Denver’s bench unit going forward. The Nuggets have a plus-6.5 net rating when he is on the floor without Jokic and Westbrook. They have a minus-13.4 net when Westbrook is on the floor without Jokic and Braun.

“I think we’re all professionals and we understand,” Jokic said, asserting that nothing changes for him depending on who’s in the starting five around him.

In an ironic twist, Malone wasn’t able to give the new lineup much of a chance in its first stint. Denver was thrown off-script 90 seconds into the game after Jokic picked up two quick fouls, forcing him to sit the remainder of the first quarter while Braun checked in early.

“It doesn’t make a difference to me,” Braun said. “Of course, I want to start. Everybody on the team wants to start. But it doesn’t matter. I just want to contribute when I’m out there. … Obviously, those guys have earned it. Those guys have been in the league a long time. They’ve put in a lot more time than I have. So they deserve those things. And I got a lot of opportunity tonight.”