Nikola Jokic had 35 points, 22 rebounds and a season-high 17 assists for his fifth straight triple-double, and the host Denver Nuggets held on to beat the Sacramento Kings 132-123 on Thursday night.
Jokic, who was voted an All-Star starter Thursday, has secured each triple-double during his current streak before the end of the third quarter. He is the first player since 1996-97 to have five straight triple-doubles before the fourth quarter, and 14 of his NBA-leading 20 have come in that fashion.
Christian Braun had 21 points, Michael Porter Jr. scored 20 and Russell Westbrook and Jamal Murray contributed 18 points each for Denver, which has won four straight.
Domantas Sabonis had 23 points and 19 rebounds, DeMar DeRozan scored 24 and De’Aaron Fox finished with 17 points for Sacramento, which is now 10-3 under interim head coach Doug Christie.
Clippers 110, Wizards 93
James Harden recorded his second triple-double of the season and host Los Angeles sent Washington to a 12th consecutive loss.
On his way to an 83rd career triple-double, Harden scored 17 points, dished 13 assists and grabbed 12 rebounds. Norman Powell scored a team-high 22 points, Derrick Jones Jr. added 19 and Kawhi Leonard tallied 15 points and seven rebounds.
Jordan Poole led Washington with 24 points and nine assists. Bilal Coulibaly added 15 points, Alex Sarr recorded 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Jonas Valanciunas had 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Bucks 125, Heat 96
Damian Lillard came up one rebound short of a triple-double, scoring 29 points and dishing 11 assists to lead Milwaukee to a win over visiting Miami.
Milwaukee was able to make it home in time after not being able to leave New Orleans until 3 p.m. Central time, with the game being delayed by one hour. Despite not having a normal pregame, Milwaukee won its fifth in a row. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 25 points and Gary Trent Jr. added 21 off the bench, all off 3-pointers.
Without Jimmy Butler due to a two-game suspension, Kel’el Ware led Miami with 22 points and Tyler Herro added 21.
Raptors 122, Hawks 119
RJ Barrett sank a tiebreaking 3-pointer to put Toronto ahead for good with 2:51 remaining, and the visiting Raptors defeated Atlanta.
Scottie Barnes scored a team-high 25 points, Bruce Brown had 18 points off the bench and Chris Boucher and Jakob Poeltl contributed 17 apiece as Toronto won its fourth game in five tries and improved to 2-19 on the road.
Bogdan Bogdanovic led Atlanta with 23 points, while Dyson Daniels added 22 points and Onyeka Okongwu collected 19 points and 12 rebounds. Trae Young tallied 18 points and 13 assists for the Hawks, who dropped their third straight game.
Lakers 117, Celtics 96
Anthony Davis recorded 24 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots to help Los Angeles hand visiting Boston its worst loss of the season.
Austin Reaves had 23 points and six assists and LeBron James added 20 points, 14 rebounds and six assists for Los Angeles, which won for the fourth time in the past five games.
Kristaps Porzingis had 22 points and seven rebounds for the Celtics, who have split their past 10 games after beginning the season with 26 wins in 35 games. Jaylen Brown had 17 points and eight rebounds and Jayson Tatum added 16 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Mavericks 121, Thunder 115
Spencer Dinwiddie scored 28 points and Kyrie Irving added 24 as visiting Dallas beat Oklahoma City, which lost at home for the first time since Nov. 17, snapping a 12-game win streak.
P.J. Washington added 22 points and 19 rebounds as Dallas shot 52.7 percent. Olivier-Maxence Prosper chipped in 14 points off the bench for the Mavericks, who finished 3-1 this season against the West-leading Thunder.
Jalen Williams led Oklahoma City with 33 points and also had seven assists. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander netted 31 points after scoring a career-high 54 in a home win over Utah on Wednesday.
Spurs 140, Pacers 110
Victor Wembanyama collected 30 points and 11 rebounds as part of a successful homecoming, leading San Antonio to a drubbing of Indiana in Paris.
Wembanyama, a Frenchman who also got to play in his native country this past summer at the Paris Olympics, rounded out his complete performance with six assists and five blocks. Nine of his points, six of his boards and four of his rejections came in the third quarter, where San Antonio outscored Indiana 45-23 to virtually put the game away.
Devin Vassell supplied 25 points, Harrison Barnes finished with 20 and Jeremy Sochan posted 13 to go along with nine rebounds for San Antonio, which was lethal from beyond the arc (18-for-36) and overcame 20 turnovers. Indiana’s Bennedict Mathurin went for 24 points and Pascal Siakam chipped in 18 points and six assists.
Warriors 131, Bulls 106
Stephen Curry scored 21 points, Quinten Post and Gui Santos recorded career highs off the bench and Golden State endured a 64-point explosion in the first half by visiting Chicago for a victory in San Francisco.
Post, in just his sixth NBA game, led the Warriors’ bench assault with 20 points, while Santos scored 19 points. Each hit five 3-pointers as Golden State halted a two-game skid.
Zach LaVine tallied a game-high 24 points for the Bulls, who lost for the sixth time in seven games. Josh Giddey contributed 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Trail Blazers 101, Magic 79
Portland used a stifling defensive effort to spoil Orlando star Franz Wagner’s return and scored its second three-game winning streak of the season with a road rout of the Magic.
Wagner, who missed 20 games with an oblique injury, scored a team-high 20 points on 9-of-19 shooting from the floor. Portland held the rest of the Magic to just 17-of-57 shooting (29.8 percent), including a 1-of-14 performance by Paolo Banchero. Banchero’s eight points were his fewest since a six-point outing on Nov. 29, 2023.
The Blazers, meanwhile, complemented their best defensive showing of the season with a balanced scoring effort. Five Blazers scored in double figures, led by Anfernee Simons with 21 points. All five Portland starters scored at least eight points. Robert Williams III grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds to go with eight points and four blocked shots.
–Field Level Media
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