Nikola Jokic delivered a dominant 35-point performance as the Denver Nuggets bounced back to topple the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder, 140-127, in the NBA yesterday (Philippine time).
Jokic had been forced to take a backseat to Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in an emphatic 127-103 Denver loss to Oklahoma City on Sunday, March 9, in the first game of back-to-back meetings between the two teams.
But three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic seized control of the second installment to snap Oklahoma’s seven-game unbeaten streak with a clinical victory.
Denver’s balanced offense proved too much for the Thunder, with six players finishing in double figures led by Jokic.
Jamal Murray backed Jokic with 34 points as the Nuggets outscored Oklahoma, 73-54, in the second half, inflicting the heaviest points total conceded by the Thunder this season.
“We knew we were going to have to play 48 minutes of defense, so we wanted to have the right mindset.”
Luguentz Dort led the Thunder scorers with 26 points, while Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 25. Oklahoma City remained in first place in the Western Conference at 53-12, while Denver moved up to second at 42-23, 11 games back from the leaders.
Lakers lose, Curry on brink
Elsewhere, the Los Angeles Lakers made a losing start to life without LeBron James, crashing to a 111-108 defeat against the lowly-ranked Brooklyn Nets in New York.
James, who limped out of the defeat to Boston with a groin problem and faces up to two weeks on the injured list, watched from the sidelines as the Nets grabbed a deserved victory at the Barclays Center.
The Lakers looked ready to put defeat to the Celtics behind them after opening up a 15-point lead early in the second quarter after outscoring Brooklyn 28-16 in the first.
But Brooklyn stormed back to outscore Los Angeles 32-19 in the second to take a slender 48-47 advantage into halftime and held off the Lakers in the fourth to close out only their 22nd win of the season.
Noah Clowney led Brooklyn’s scoring with 19 points from the bench, with Cameron Johnson and Keon Johnson both posting 18 points apiece.
Gabe Vincent topscored for the Lakers with 24 points, with Luka Doncic posting a triple-double of 22 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists.
In San Francisco, the Golden State Warriors romped to their fifth straight victory to maintain their recent resurgence with a 130-120 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.
The win left Warriors star Stephen Curry just two three-pointers shy of becoming the first player in NBA history to amass 4,000 triples.
The 36-year-old four-time NBA champion — already the runaway all-time leader for threes — went into the game seven adrift of the 4,000 mark.
However, after a 24-point contribution, Curry will now look to pass the milestone in the home game against the Sacramento Kings.
In Boston, meanwhile, the Celtics extended their unbeaten streak to five games after holding off a spirited late rally from the Utah Jazz to win 114-108 at the TD Garden.
The Celtics looked to be cruising after opening up a 24-point lead late in the third quarter.
Utah caught fire in the fourth quarter, however, flirting with a miraculous comeback to pour in 39 points to the Celtics’ 24.
Brice Sensabaugh led the late charge for Utah with 17 fourth-quarter points in a rally that came up just short.
Sam Hauser topped the Boston scoring with 33 points, with Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla electing to give Jayson Tatum a night off.
In Chicago, Australian international Josh Giddey and Coby White scored 29 points each as the struggling Bulls dismantled the Indiana Pacers, 121-103.
The Atlanta Hawks kept up their unlikely pursuit of an automatic playoff slot with a 132-123 defeat of the Philadelphia 76ers. The Hawks’ third consecutive win leaves them in seventh place on 31-34, but well adrift of Detroit in sixth place (36-29). (Agence France-Presse)