It’s good to have Jonas Valanciunas back on the clock after a few weeks of paid time off.

The game after the Nuggets lost Nikola Jokic to a bone bruise in his left knee, Valanciunas suffered a strained right calf that cost him the first three weeks of January and left the Nuggets without a true center.

“You have a lot of stuff going on throughout the season. There’s things you got to manage and things you’ve got to miss some time,” Valanciunas said after his second game back, a 109-107 loss to the Pistons on Tuesday at Ball Arena.

“As a player, I think for you the job is to be available and take care of your body, get some rest, treatments and everything. We’ve got anything we can imagine to take care of our bodies, so it’s on us.”

Valanciunas has been good at his job in recent seasons. He appeared in 81 games last season and played all 82 the year before. He played fewer than 50 games just once in the first 13 years of his NBA career. That was in the 2018-19 season, which he split between Memphis and Toronto. He’s still in the process of ramping back up.

“I missed some time, so I need to get into game shape,” Valanciunas admitted. “That’s going to take a little bit of time. It felt good, just playing basketball. That’s what I’m happy to do.”

The Nuggets were happy to have him back against a Pistons team that averages 45.9 rebounds, good for sixth in the NBA. Detroit’s 13.4 offensive rebounds per game rank fourth. Thanks to Valanciunas’ 16 rebounds, the Nuggets ended Tuesday’s game with a 57-47 advantage on the glass.

“The second half, I thought we fought on the rebounds as good as we’ve done in a long time. We end up winning the battle and tying them in second-chance points, which no one does against that team,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said.

“You’re never going to score 60 plus in the paint against that team – 48 is not a bad number. Obviously, with Jonas back, it helps.”

Valanciunas also scored 16 points on 10 shots. Jamal Murray has noticed opposing teams guarding the Nuggets differently since they’ve had a real center back in the rotation.

“The other team has to game plan for us. They can’t just switch everything and then double me,” Murray said. “Val’s a big body, and they’ve got to keep a big body on him. … He’s really helping us a lot on the boards, obviously.”

The Lithuanian should have an easier night of work when the Nets come to town Thursday. Brooklyn has the league’s lowest rebounding average, 39.9, and ranks in the bottom 10 of offensive rebounds.

The 33-year-old played 22 minutes in his first game back, a Nuggets win over Washington. He was held out of Denver’s win in Milwaukee on the second night of a back-to-back. The cancellation of Sunday’s game in Memphis provided some extra rest, and he played 31 minutes against Detroit. How much work he’s able to put in Thursday, the first night of another back-to-back, is beyond his control.

“That’s a question for the doctors. They know better. I’m just there doing whatever I need to do. No matter how long I play, I just go out there and fight,” Valanciunas said.

“That’s our job, to be available.”