Nikola Jokic tied his career high with 47 points and the Denver Nuggets got off to a quick start to beat a Utah Jazz 128-117 on Sunday that saw their 11-game winning streak break.
Jokic hit 17 of 26 shots from the field, made his four triples and nine of 10 free throws, in addition to contributing 12 rebounds and five assists. He scored 33 points in the first half.
Will Barton added 18 points and Jamal Murray had 16 to help the Nuggets to their sixth victory in seven games.
Utah lost for the first time since his fall on January 6 in New York. Bojan Bogdanovic led the Jazz offense with 29 points and Donovan Mitchell contributed 13 in 31 minutes after missing two games while adhering to concussion protocol.
Denver hit all eight of his 3-pointers, hitting 80% of his field goals in the first quarter. The Nuggets kept pace in the second by scoring 13 of 24 shots from the field, finishing with 15 3-pointers on 17 first half tries to take a 79-54 lead at halftime.
The Nuggets were up 86-58 with 8:11 over in the third quarter, for a streak from Utah. The Jazz made eight 3-pointers, surpassing Denver by 18 points to get closer to 99-91.
JaMychal Green, however, scored his 11 points in the fourth quarter when the Nuggets pulled their lead back to 20 points. Jokic equaled his career highlights on a shot with 2:05 minutes to go.
TANGERS 129
KNICKS 115
(AP) New York
Kawhi Leonard had 28 points and the Los Angeles Clippers posted the most points against the best defense in the NBA this season in Sunday’s 129-115 victory over the New York Knicks.
It was the Clippers’ 10th win in 11 games.
The Clippers destroyed the team that allows the fewest points in the NBA.
KNOWING MORE
Other scorers.
Reggie Jackson had 18 points and Paul George had 17 points for the Clippers, who hit 17 3-pointers and 54% of their shots from the field against a league leader Knicks in this category. Los Angeles was 16-5.
Julius Randle had 27 points and 12 rebounds for the Knicks. Rookie Immanuel Quickley added 25 points and RJ Barrett 23, but offense wasn’t the problem.