NBA: Nikola Jokic's triple-double leads Nuggets past Hornets

It took time for Nikola Jokic to get cranked up, but he carried the Denver Nuggets during second-half stretches on his way to a triple-double in a 113-109 road victory against the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night.

Jokic finished with 26 points, 19 rebounds and 11 assists, all team highs.

In a late-game, eight-minute span, Denver managed just seven points -- and Jokic had all of them. The Nuggets, who led by 13 early in the fourth quarter, had to hold off a furious rally from the Hornets.

Aaron Gordon scored 19 of his 21 points in the first half for the Nuggets (45-31), who won for just the third time in their past six games. Will Barton racked up 18 points and Jeff Green and Monte Morris both had 14 points.

Jokic hit two free throws with 1:25 left as Denver went up 109-104. LaMelo Ball scored for the Hornets before Morris sank two foul shots. Charlotte's Terry Rozier then connected on a 3-pointer.

Charlotte appeared to get the defensive stop it needed when Jokic missed a shot, but he grabbed his own rebound and was fouled. He made two free throws with 8.6 seconds left to push the lead to four.

Miles Bridges poured in 27 points to go with 11 rebounds for the Hornets (39-37). Ball had 22 points and 11 assists, Kelly Oubre Jr., Isaiah Thomas and Rozier all added 12 points and P.J. Washington posted 10 points.

Charlotte, which was coming off a road victory Sunday night against the Brooklyn Nets, hit only 13 of 42 attempts from 3-point range on Monday.

The Nuggets led 102-91 with 7 1/2 minutes to play. Charlotte tallied the next eight points, with Thomas and Bridges hitting 3-pointers to complete that part of the rally.

The Hornets held a 57-56 halftime edge despite shooting 5-for-20 from beyond the arc.

The Nuggets started to take control with a 13-0 run in the third quarter to move to an 80-71 lead. Jokic scored seven points during that stretch, including a free throw on a technical foul when Charlotte power forward Montrezl Harrell was ejected following a dust-up with Jokic and Gordon.

-reuters

NBA: Devin Booker scores 49 as Suns clinch top seed

Devin Booker scored a season-high 49 points and added 10 assists, Chris Paul had 17 points and 13 assists in his return to the lineup, and the visiting Phoenix Suns beat the Denver Nuggets, 140-130, on Thursday night to clinch the top seed in the Western Conference.

Mikal Bridges scored 22 points, Deandre Ayton had 16 points and Jae Crowder finished with 12 for the Suns (60-14), who have won seven straight.

Paul missed 15 games with a fractured thumb and hadn't played for the Suns since prior to the All-Star break. He did log two minutes in the All-Star Game.

Nikola Jokic led Denver (43-31) with 28 points, Bones Hyland scored 23, Aaron Gordon had 21, Will Barton had 17, Monte Morris scored 15, Jeff Green added 11 and DeMarcus Cousins had 10.

The teams traded leads in a high-scoring first half, with Phoenix leading by five and the Nuggets up by seven at one point.

Hyland did most of the damage for Denver. He scored 19 points off the bench, including 4-for-6 from behind the arc, to help give the Nuggets a 68-66 lead at halftime.

Things stayed close for the first few minutes of the third quarter before Denver created some distance. Barton and Morris hit 3-pointers, and Morris was fouled on his jumper and made the free throw for a four-point play and an 85-78 lead.

The Suns got within 89-86, but the Nuggets stretched the lead to 101-92 late in the period. Phoenix came back behind Booker, who scored 10 points in the final 2:52 to cut the deficit to 106-104 heading into the fourth.

Phoenix took the lead when Bridges' 3-pointer made it 110-109, then the Suns started to pull away. Bridges hit a pair of free throws, Booker made a jumper in the lane and Bridges hit another 3-pointer to make it 122-114.

Denver got within 124-120 on a three-point play by Gordon with 3:55 left, but Phoenix closed it out.

-reuters

NBA: Nuggets to sign DeMarcus Cousins for rest of season -- report

The Denver Nuggets are planning to sign center DeMarcus Cousins for the rest of the season, The Athletic reported Tuesday.

Cousins, 31, is currently a free agent after his third and final 10-day deal with the Nuggets ended Saturday. He's not eligible for another with the Nuggets unless it's a hardship contract, requiring a player to go into health and safety protocol.

In eight appearances with the Nuggets, Cousins is averaging 6.1 points and 6.3 rebounds in 13.1 minutes played per game.

Cousins started the season without a team but signed a non-guaranteed contract with the Milwaukee Bucks in November. He played in 17 games (five starts) for the Bucks, averaging 9.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, while shooting 60 percent on all two-point shots and 81 percent from the free throw line.

The Bucks released him on Jan. 6. He inked his first 10-day deal with Denver on Jan. 21.

The four-time All-Star -- who was selected fifth overall by the Sacramento Kings in 2010 -- averages 19.9 points, 10.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists for his career.

Nuggets coach Mike Malone coached Cousins for one season in Sacramento, in 2013-14. Cousins shot a career-best 49.6 percent from the floor that season.

-reuters

NBA: Nikola Jokic's big night guides Nuggets over Spurs

Nikola Jokic had 32 points and 16 rebounds, Monte Morris scored 13 points, and the host Denver Nuggets beat the San Antonio Spurs 102-96 on Friday night.

Will Barton scored 12 points and JaMychal Green had 10 points off the bench for Denver, which won its home opener.

Keldon Johnson led San Antonio with 27 points. Derrick White added 16 and Jakob Poeltl and Dejounte Murray scored 15 points each for the Spurs.

The Nuggets led by 11 after Green's dunk opened the fourth quarter, but San Antonio chipped away. Johnson hit two jumpers and Poeltl had a dunk and a layup to pull the Spurs within 83-78.

After a timeout, Denver had two empty possessions while White hit two free throws and Poeltl made another layup to make it a 1-point game.

San Antonio missed a 3-pointer that would have given it the lead and Facu Campazzo broke the Nuggets' drought with a layup. That started an 11-3 run capped by Michael Porter Jr.'s 3-pointer with 4:05 left.

Jokic's 13-foot turnaround jumper with 1:32 left made it 100-93, but White answered with a 3-pointer to get the Spurs within four. Morris hit a jumper that sealed it.

Denver scored the first basket of the third quarter, but San Antonio quickly responded. Poeltl dunked off a White miss, Johnson hit a pull-up jumper after Porter missed and Murray turned two Nuggets turnovers into a layup and a 3-pointer to give the Spurs a 59-55 lead.

Denver responded with a 12-5 run, highlighted by Jokic grabbing a defensive rebound and going coast-to-coast for a layup that tied the game.

The Nuggets increased the lead to 10 on a 3-pointer by Jokic and his pass to Campazzo for a layup, and took a 79-70 advantage into the fourth quarter.

The Nuggets led 53-50 at the break but had 11 turnovers in the first half, which kept San Antonio close. Jokic had 13 points to lead Denver and Johnson paced San Antonio with 18 in the first two quarters.

-reuters-

NBA: Celtics use huge second-half run to topple Jokic, Nuggets

Jayson Tatum had 28 points and 10 rebounds, Jaylen Brown finished with 20 points and eight rebounds and the visiting Boston Celtics rallied to beat the Denver Nuggets 105-87 on Sunday.

Marcus Smart and Kemba Walker scored 14 each and Robert Williams III scored 10 points for the Celtics, who went on a 31-3 run in the third and fourth quarters.

Nikola Jokic had 17 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, Michael Porter Jr. had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Facundo Campazzo scored 14 and Will Barton had 13 for Denver. The Nuggets had their eight-game winning streak snapped.

Denver led 79-65 with 2:17 left in the third quarter but the Celtics took control from that point.

Walker scored seven points, Brown had six to get Boston within a point early in the fourth quarter, and Langford hit two free throws to give the Celtics an 80-79 lead, their first of the game.

The Nuggets missed 10 straight shots and had five turnovers following Campazzo's 3-pointer that put them ahead by 14. The run ended with Monte Morris' jumper with 10-footer with 7:08 remaining.

Tatum then hit a jumper and a long 3-pointer to give Boston a 90-82 lead with 6:20 left.

Jokic got a rebound to get his 14th triple-double of the season and 55th of his career but he turned it over, leading to a dunk by Williams. The Celtics made two more field goals after misses by Jokic to push the lead to 96-82 with 4:41 left.

Porter's three-point play broke another Denver drought and was just the second Nuggets field goal since late in the third quarter.

The Nuggets scored just eight points over the final 14:17 of the game and missed 22 of their final 25 shots.

Denver led by 14 late in the first quarter and by 11 in the final minute of the second after two free throws by Porter. Smart hit a 3-pointer and Tatum a layup with less than a second left in the period to cut the Nuggets' lead to 51-45 at halftime.

-reuters

Rockets' Harden, Westbrook conspire to stop Nuggets

LOS ANGELES – James Harden scored 35 points and Russell Westbrook finished with 28 as the Houston Rockets cooled off the Denver Nuggets with a 130-104 win on Tuesday (Wednesday, Manila time).

Harden also had six assists while Westbrook contributed seven helpers, avenging an earlier loss to the Nuggets.

Nikola Jokic scored 21 points to lead Denver, who had won nine of their last 10 games.

Denver defeated the Rockets 105-95 on November 20 by double-teaming Harden which put more pressure on his teammates to try and pick up the slack.

The Rockets moved the ball quickly on Tuesday, seizing control of the contest with a 19-3 burst to open the fourth quarter.

Clint Capela had a double-double for Houston (16 points, 10 rebounds) while Isaiah Hartenstein finished with 16 points and 12 boards off the bench.

Monte Morris came off the bench to score 18 points for Denver. Paul Millsap had 13 points and nine boards for Denver while Jamal Murray and Will Barton totaled 22 points on 10-of-30 shooting.

Elsewhere, Domantas Sabonis tallied 23 points and 10 rebounds as the Indiana Pacers beat the Joel Embiid-less Philadelphia 76ers 115-97 in Indianapolis.

TJ Warren scored 21 points, Myles Turner tallied 14 and Jeremy Lamb had 13 for the Pacers, who improved to 15-3 at home.

'Disappointing'

Doug McDermott also had 12 points for Indiana, while former 76er TJ McConnell added 11 points and 10 assists, ending a modest two-game losing skid for the Pacers.

"We played great basketball," Pacers' coach Nate McMillan said. "We established our defense, got stops and were able to get into transition.

"With 35 assists we were making their defense move and work. I just loved the tempo we established at the defensive end of the floor as well as the offensive end."

Philadelphia looked disorganized without all-star center Embiid, who has an injured left knee. They have won just three of seven games this season when Embiid sat out.

Ben Simmons had 18 points and 10 rebounds and Josh Richardson scored 20 points for the Sixers.

Since beating the Milwaukee Bucks 121-109 on Christmas Day, the Sixers have dropped three consecutive road games in Orlando, Miami and Indianapolis.

"After coming out of Miami (a 117-116 loss in overtime) and losing two games prior to being here, that's a disappointing performance," 76ers coach Brett Brown said.

"I do give Indiana credit as it relates to us missing shots. We certainly had people down. They were some of our better players. Just didn't have the performances that they're used to having."

Also, Kawhi Leonard scored 24 points and the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Sacramento Kings for the 10th straight time, 105-87.

Leonard finished eight of 21 from the floor with seven assists.

Paul George delivered 21 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists for the Clippers, who have won 14 straight in Sacramento.

source: philstar.com

Rockets romp past Nuggets; Pistons thwart Magic

LOS ANGELES – James Harden scored 38 points to led the Houston Rockets to a 112-85 victory over the Denver Nuggets in a battle of NBA Western Conference contenders on Thursday (Friday Manila time).

Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Harden added six rebounds and six assists in 32 minutes on the floor as the Rockets blew past a Nuggets team boasting the second-best record in the West behind the reigning champion Golden State Warriors.

"I think it's important for our confidence, our rhythm, our chemistry," said Rockets center Clint Capela, who added 17 points with 15 rebounds. "We did a good job tonight to keep them under 25 points a quarter.


Eric Gordon added 18 points and Austin Rivers chipped in 15 for the Rockets, who out-scored the Nuggets 40-19 in the second quarter to seize control of the contest.

Elsewhere, the Utah Jazz's playoff berth was confirmed thanks to the Sacrament Kings' 121-118 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.

The playoff bound Toronto Raptors encountered little resistance from the Knicks in a 117-92 victory in New York.

Forward Pascal Siakam led the Raptors with 31 points as Toronto improved to 53-23 -- second in the East behind the Milwaukee Bucks who improved to 57-19 with a 128-118 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Philadelphia 76ers strengthened their hold on the third seed in the East with a 123-110 victory over Brooklyn that saw the Nets slip a notch to seventh -- the penultimate playoff spot.

Joel Embiid scored 39 points, pulled down 13 rebounds and handed out six assists, making three of his four attempts from 3-point range.

The Detroit Pistons found themselves in sixth in the East after a valuable 115-98 victory over the Orlando Magic — who dropped out of a playoff spot into eighth place with the defeat coupled with the Miami Heat's 105-99 win over the Dallas Mavericks.

Andre Drummond scored 18 points and grabbed 18 rebounds, out-playing Magic All-Star center Nikola Vucevic.

The Pistons, who had lost six of nine games, snapped a three-game losing streak and they also take the season series against the Magic three games to one -- a playoff tiebreaker advantage.

Inspirational performances

The Heat, coming off a loss to Orlando on Tuesday, got themselves back in playoff position at No. 8 with a 105-99 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

Goran Dragic marked his return to Miami's starting lineup with a triple-double of 23 points, 11 assists and 12 rebounds.

It was the Slovenian guard's first triple-double with the Heat and his first since he was with the Houston Rockets in 2010-11.

"I would never bet against him as a competitor," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We needed some inspirational performances tonight."

The triple-double also gave him bragging rights over the Mavericks' Slovenian rookie sensation Luka Doncic, who finished with 19 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

It was a first NBA clash between the two players who teamed up to lead Slovenia to the 2017 Euro Basket title.

Although the Mavs have struggled on the road, they led 29-26 after one quarter and 59-49 at halftime.

The Heat knotted the score at 62-62 early in the third, but Dallas had edged ahead 82-75 going into the final frame before Miami managed to seal the win. Veteran Dwyane Wade scored six of his 11 points in the fourth quarter.

"This group has some character and we had to really reveal a lot of that in the second half," Spoelstra said.

source: philstar.com

Lakers rip Nuggets

LeBron in groove, hits triple-double

LOS ANGELES – LeBron James had 28 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds while leading the Los Angeles Lakers’ late rally for his first home victory at Staples Center, 128-111 over the previously unbeaten Denver Nuggets on Thursday night.

Kyle Kuzma scored 22 points and JaVale McGee added 21 to complement James’ 74th career triple-double, his first with his new team.

With Kobe Bryant watching from a courtside seat for the first time since LeBron’s arrival in LA, the Lakers trailed by eight points with six minutes left in the fourth quarter before Lance Stephenson started a 15-2 rally with back-to-back 3-pointers. Stephenson finished with 12 points.


James got Staples Center rocking on a go-ahead dunk with 3:31 to play before Lonzo Ball made an artful step-back 3-pointer. Kuzma added two huge dunks down the stretch of Los Angeles’ second win in two days after an 0-3 start.

Nikola Jokic scored 24 points for the Nuggets, who were off to their best start since the 2009-10 season. Jamal Murray scored 22 points and Monte Morris had 20, but Denver couldn’t answer the Lakers’ rally led by James, who posted his third career triple-double in Staples Center for his third different team.


In Oklahoma City, Jayson Tatum scored 24 points, and Boston rallied from a 16-point halftime deficit to beat winless Oklahoma City, 101-95.

Marcus Morris added 21 points, Al Horford had 19 and Kyrie Irving 15.

Paul George scored 22 points for Oklahoma City, but shot just 7 of 22. Russell Westbrook had 13 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists, but he shot 5 for 20. The Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers are the only winless teams in the NBA.

Morris hit a 3-pointer with 27 seconds left to give the Celtics a 98-95 lead, and they held on.

Oklahoma City led 50-34 at halftime. Boston shot just 32 percent in the first half and missed all 11 of its 3-point attempts.

In Detroit, Andre Drummond had 26 points and 22 rebounds, and Detroit improved to 4-0 and dropped Cleveland to its sixth straight loss, 110-103, for the first time since 2003-04 – when LeBron James was a rookie.

source: philstar.com