DENVER (AP) — For the first time in four months the Denver Nuggets look like the team their new management team of Ben Tenzer and Jon Wallace assembled in the offseason, one featuring a strong starting five and enviable depth.
Peyton Watson returned from a pulled hamstring and a six-week absence Sunday and helped the Nuggets race past the red-hot Portland Trail Blazers 128-112. Watson scored 14 points, pulled down six defensive rebounds and tallied three assists in 20 minutes.
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Denver Nuggets guard Peyton Watson, right, drives to the rim as Portland Trail Blazers center Donovan Clingan defends in the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, March 22, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic drives to the basket between Toronto Raptors forward Brandon Ingram, left, and center Jakob Poeltl, right, in the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, March 20, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Denver Nuggets forward Cameron Johnson, left, loses control of the ball while driving past Portland Trail Blazers guard Matisse Thybulle in the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, March 22, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon, center, hangs on the rim after dunking the ball for a basket between Portland Trail Blazers guards Sidy Cissoko, left, and Jrue Holiday in the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, March 22, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
It was the first time since Nov. 12 that the Nuggets (44-28) had their starting rotation and full complement of backups all available.
“It was a great feeling,” Spencer Jones said. “We were hyped walking out there. The only bad thing about it was there wasn't enough room on the bench. You can't really stretch your legs as much as you're used to. But, nah, it's a great feeling to have everybody out there."
All five starters scored in double figures, led by All-Stars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray with 22 each. Cam Johnson added 19, Christian Braun had 15 and Aaron Gordon, 12. Reserve Bruce Brown chipped in 13.
The Nuggets were especially hurting when Gordon and Watson were out. Those are two of Denver's best defenders and rim protectors.
"It's a great feeling just seeing P-Wat back, having A.G. back,” Johnson said. "This is who we are. We're deep. We've got guys that can make plays all over the court offensively and defensively. It's exciting to be back to full strength. We've got to stay there.
"We've got, what, 10 games left to make a push, finalize our place in the standings, hopefully jump up and then chase some teams down and then get ready for the playoffs.”
The Nuggets have been hoping to get all their players back on the court together for the final weeks of the regular season, and Watson's long-anticipated return puts them back at full strength, barring another injury in a season that has seen all five starters and several reserves miss significant time.
“It's huge,” Jones said. “This is the first game we've had everybody back since I don't know when. So, we're just figuring out lineups and what we can do, who works well with each other and figuring that out together and building more chemistry as a team and it'll be exciting going into the playoffs.”
Of course, no one was more excited than Watson himself.
"It was super exciting, it was hard for me to sleep last night,” said Watson, who was in the midst of his most productive two months as a pro when he joined the long list of injured Nuggets. "I was anticipating this day for a long time. You never know what to expect with the rehab process. It was really tough for me at times.
“But I'm glad I was able to push through it, I'm glad we got the training staff that we do getting me back to full health, and I'm ready to continue to contribute for us."
Jokic said it took him a good month to get back in rhythm after missing a month with a knee injury and he expects Watson to take some time getting his game back, too.
Watson, however, said he's not that far off, if at all.
Getting injured, he said, "was really frustrating, especially with the groove that I had worked my way into and the basketball that I was playing. But to be honest with you, this whole six weeks feels like a blur at this point; I feel like I'm right back where I was six weeks ago.
“The confidence is there, everything is there."
Watson is looking on the bright side. The spate of injuries all season may have been frustrating, but they allowed other players — including himself — to step up and carve out bigger roles.
“I think you need some adversity to kind of build a team up and that's what this year has been,” Watson said. “And it's forced other guys to step up and play big minutes and have big responsibilities and like D.A. (coach David Adelman) said tonight, there are guys that didn't play a lick tonight that he would trust to play 35 minutes. So, I think that it's a blessing and a curse that we got injured and it'll be better for us in the long run,”
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Denver Nuggets guard Peyton Watson, right, drives to the rim as Portland Trail Blazers center Donovan Clingan defends in the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, March 22, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic drives to the basket between Toronto Raptors forward Brandon Ingram, left, and center Jakob Poeltl, right, in the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, March 20, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Denver Nuggets forward Cameron Johnson, left, loses control of the ball while driving past Portland Trail Blazers guard Matisse Thybulle in the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, March 22, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon, center, hangs on the rim after dunking the ball for a basket between Portland Trail Blazers guards Sidy Cissoko, left, and Jrue Holiday in the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, March 22, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
NEW YORK (AP) — Armed federal immigration officers in tactical gear moved through terminals at some of the busiest U.S. airports Monday, standing near security lines and checkpoints after President Donald Trump ordered their deployment during a partial government shutdown that has disrupted air travel nationwide.
The officers were not making arrests or screening passengers. The Trump administration vaguely said they would supplement Transportation Security Administration staffing at certain airports. But after a year of intensified immigration enforcement and protests in cities across the country, their appearance at airport checkpoints has unsettled some travelers and raised new questions about how far their presence might extend.
On Monday, Associated Press journalists observed Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and agents patrolling terminals and lingering near long lines of passengers at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston and Louis Armstrong International Airport outside New Orleans. A handful of other airports — including Phoenix's Sky Harbor International and William P. Hobby Airport in Houston — also confirmed ICE would be on site.
Federal law enforcement officers are a routine presence at international airports. Customs and Border Protection officers screen arriving passengers, and Homeland Security Investigations agents conduct complex criminal inquiries tied to cross-border activity. But immigration agents are rarely visible at TSA checkpoints, the front line of domestic air travel — and their presence there, even in a limited role, stands out.
Monday’s deployments came as hundreds of thousands of Homeland Security workers, including from the TSA, have worked without pay since Congress failed to renew DHS funding last month.
Funding for the department lapsed Feb. 14, as Democrats refused to fund ICE as well as Customs and Border Protection without changes to their operations in the wake of the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis. But the stalemate only deepened with Trump rejecting the latest offer, this one from his own Republican party, after a weekend of negotiations.
The White House staff pitched Trump on the idea of funding DHS, except for the immigration operations that have been central to the dispute, according to a person a familiar with the situation and granted anonymity to discuss the private talks. Still, Trump rejected that plan and later Sunday escalated his demands that senators also approve the so called SAVE America Act, a strict proof-of-citizenship voting bill that has essentially no chance in the Congress.
The White House on Monday turned down a request from top Democratic negotiator, Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, to meet that morning and continue talks, according to another person granted anonymity to discuss the private conversations.
Democrats are continuing to demand major changes to federal immigration operations — including policy changes that would require ICE officers to get a warrant from a judge before forcefully entering homes, the removal of masks and clear identifying information on uniforms.
Unlike many recent immigration operations in U.S. cities, where federal agents have often worn face coverings, ICE officers at airports Monday appeared to be largely not masked — following an earlier direction by Trump.
Some fear that positioning federal immigration officers at security checkpoints will only escalate tensions. Union leaders representing aviation workers stressed that ICE officers don’t have the same training and expertise as TSA workers — and the presence of federal immigration officers could also put some travelers on edge.
Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees — which represents TSA officers — said in a statement that his members “deserve to be paid, not replaced by untrained, armed agents who have shown how dangerous they can be.”
Whether ICE will have a more sweeping role beyond watching long lines and patrolling terminals has yet to be seen. On Sunday, Trump said federal immigration officers could assist TSA by guarding exit lanes or checking passenger IDs — and the president has since suggested he could deploy the National Guard at airports, too.
ICE and TSA have been “working together so far very well," Trump said at a Monday public safety roundtable in Memphis. Still, he said he would “bring out the National Guard” if more personnel is needed.
Long wait times persisted at some major hubs Monday.
Atlanta’s Hartsfield–Jackson, for example, is still urging passengers to allow at least four hours for both domestic and international screenings. The check-in line for departing passengers was so long Monday that it snaked from the TSA screening area to the atrium, through the baggage claim and out the entrance doors with people in back of the line waiting outside. But ICE agents were not seen checking IDs or otherwise interacting with passengers.
“I may miss my flight that’s in one hour,” said Jeffrey Lewis, who was waiting in line Monday hoping to catch his flight from Atlanta to Phoenix. “I think that the government is full of it. I really do.”
Beyond TSA operations, many travelers on the East Coast faced additional disruptions after a Sunday night collision that killed two people and injured dozens of others on the runway of New York’s LaGuardia Airport. LaGuardia was temporarily shut down as air traffic was diverted for much of Monday.
After weeks of missed paychecks, many TSA agents have called in sick — or even quit their jobs — as financial strains pile up. The staffing shortages have forced some airports to close checkpoints at times, with wait times swinging dramatically for travelers.
TSA callout rates climbed over the weekend. Nationwide on Sunday, 11.8% of TSA agents missed work — the highest rate of the shutdown so far — with more than 3,450 officers calling out, according to DHS. More than 400 officers have quit during the shutdown, the department said.
Some have accused the government of using TSA workers as pawns in the ongoing budget fight. And aviation unions have raised additional safety concerns in light of the Trump administration’s deployment of federal immigration officers.
“This latest threat of ICE invasion at the airports is another distraction from solutions that protect Americans,” a coalition of unions representing aviation workers — including the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers — said in a Sunday statement. Transportation security officers “can’t simply be replaced” by federal immigration officers, they noted, adding that ICE’s presence and potential attempts to question passengers about immigration status may also “distract them from ensuring airport security.”
The unions called for TSA workers to be paid immediately — noting that, in contrast, ICE officers are among DHS workers who have continued to see paychecks as the partial shutdown drags on.
While routine funding that is used to pay TSA agents has lapsed, ICE and other immigration enforcement operations are funded with personnel receiving paychecks thanks to Trump’s big tax cuts bill that became law last year. It ballooned the DHS budget for immigration detention and deportation by billions.
Associated Press journalists Lisa Mascaro, Seung Min Kim, Tia Goldenberg, and Collin Binkley in Washington; Emilie Megnien and Mike Stewart in Atlanta; Stephen Smith in New Orleans; Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, and Rio Yamat in Las Vegas contributed to this report.
Air travelers wait in line as they progress to the TSA security checkpoint in Terminal A at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Monday, March 23, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
People wait in a TSA line at Philadelphia International Airport, Monday, March 23, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Hannah Beier)
Federal immigration agents walk through Terminal 5 at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in the Queens borough of New York, Monday, March 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)
Federal immigration agents are seen at Newark Liberty International Airport, Monday, March 23, 2026, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)
A federal immigration agent stands amid air travelers to assist with security across the lines of people waiting to progress through the TSA checkpoint in Terminal C at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Monday, March 23, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
Federal immigration agents are seen at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Monday, March 23, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Federal immigration agents are seen at Newark Liberty International Airport, Monday, March 23, 2026, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)
People wait in long TSA security lines at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in the Queens borough of New York, Monday, March 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)
Federal immigration agents walk through Terminal 8 at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in the Queens borough of New York, Monday, March 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)
People wait in long TSA security lines at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in the Queens borough of New York, Monday, March 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)
Federal immigration agents are seen at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Monday, March 23, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Emilie Megnien)
People wait in long TSA security lines at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in the Queens borough of New York, Monday, March 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)
Federal immigration agents are seen at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Monday, March 23, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Emilie Megnien)
A federal immigration agent is seen as people wait in a TSA line at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Monday, March 23, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Emilie Megnien)
