Nikola Jokic had a superb game on Friday in the NBA. The Serb had a triple-double in the Denver Nuggets’ victory over the defending champions, the Golden State Warriors, 128-123 at the Chase Center.
With the Nuggets’ second-best player, Canadian Jamal Murray, out of action as part of his recovery plan in the midst of his return to the court, the fate of Denver rested in Jokic’s hands, and the two-time MVP served a again.
Jokic achieved a triple-double in the 34 minutes he saw action: he finished with 26 points (7 of 13 shooting from the field), 12 rebounds and 10 assists to ensure his team’s victory on one of the most complicated courts in the entire league.
The Nuggets led by 10 points with just 74 seconds remaining, but a flurry by Warriors saw them cut the lead to just one point after a Jordan Poole steal and layup with 14 seconds left.
But Jokic never missed the line, immediately throwing a full-court pass to Bruce Brown for a dunk that put a three-point lead back on the scoreboard. Klay Thomson had a chance to tie the game with a long 3-pointer, but he didn’t come close.
So then, the Nuggets recovered from the surprise loss in the debut against the Minnesota Timberwolves and added their first success in the regular season, while the Warriors could not string together their second win in a row and were also 1-1.
In another game on Friday, the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Phoenix Suns 113-111 in overtime, with 41 points from point guard Damian Lillard, although the most important basket was made by the other guard, Anfernee Simons, to sentence the duel in the final moments.