Julian Strawther was happy to delay his flight back to Las Vegas.

“I was planning on just going home and seeing the family, but this is a good reason to change the plans,” Strawther said after Denver’s 132-121 win over Portland on Wednesday at Ball Arena.

Earlier Wednesday, Strawther was named as Scoot Henderson’s injury replacement in the Rising Stars Challenge, a competition between the league’s best first- and second-year players.

The Challenge is Friday with the winning team advancing to participate in the NBA’s new-look All-Star Game Sunday. If Strawther’s squad, coached by Mitch Richmond, wins Friday’s challenge he could match up with Nikola Jokic at some point Sunday.

“That would be pretty fun, man. Me and Joker can line it up. I kind of know a couple of tricks, so maybe I can try and help stop him,” Strawther said before turning honest.

“We’re gonna see. You can’t really stop the dude.”

Strawther made the fourth start of his young NBA career on the same day his travel plans changed. He made two of the first three 3-pointers he attempted and scored 11 points and grabbed five rebounds, extending his streak of double-digit scoring games to three. His minutes were limited after he picked up his fifth foul in the final 30 seconds of the third quarter.

“He fully deserves to be there. The guy is asked to do a ton for our team that is third place in the Western Conference as a second-year player. He’s excited. He and his family will go to San Francisco, enjoy the festivities. He’ll have a chance to enjoy it, go out there and show the world what he’s capable of doing,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said pregame.

“Really excited for Julian; well-deserved honor.”

When asked if there was anything meaningful Strawther could take from the weekend in San Francisco, the Nuggets’ coach hoped his 22-year-old wing might return to Denver with a little bit more swagger in his step.

“When you’re selected — I know that he was an injury replacement, but I don’t care. You’re still going. To be around some of the best young players in the NBA, in the world, you look at yourself a little bit differently: ‘I’m one of the few guys. There’s a lot of guys that are not here.’ So hopefully he can take some confidence,” Malone said.

“We need him to be an offensive weapon off the bench. That’s a tall order, but (it’s) one that he fully embraces and doesn’t shy away from. That’s why I’m such a big fan of Julian’s.”

PJ Hall, who will participate in the G League Up Next Game on Sunday, and Jokic, who will start in the All-Star Game, are Denver’s other representatives at the All-Star weekend.

“I was pumped. I was really excited for Julian,” Malone said. “Any time you can have people represent the Nuggets at All-Star weekend, I think that’s fantastic for the organization, for our fans.”

Getting to San Francisco not only impacted Strawther’s plans, but he also had to find a way to get his family there on short notice to experience the weekend’s festivities. It’s all worth it to witness something that almost didn’t happen.

“They’re going to come out and watch the game, so that will be fun,” Strawther said.

“Being a second-year guy in the Rising Stars, I’ll never have the opportunity to do it again. It’s an honor to be selected and be a part of that and a part of NBA All-Star weekend.”