Jokic leads Nuggets to victory over Celtics

LOS ANGELES: Nikola Jokic bagged his 20th triple-double of the season as the Denver Nuggets held off the Boston Celtics 115-109 in their heavyweight NBA showdown on Thursday.

The eagerly anticipated clash between the reigning NBA champions and Eastern Conference-leading Celtics lived up to the billing in a hard-fought duel in Denver.

Denver talisman Jokic finished with 32 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists while Jamal Murray finished with 19 points and Aaron Gordon 16.

The win gave Denver a clean sweep over Boston in their meetings this season.

The Celtics, beaten by Cleveland on Tuesday, suffered back-to-back losses for the first time since early November.

Jokic meanwhile played down the significance of the result, brushing off suggestions that Thursday’s showdown could be a preview of the NBA Finals.

“We’re a long way from the finals my friend,” the Serbian said in an on-court interview ater the win.

“We had a really good energy tonight...our offense was really clicking today.”

Boston meanwhile were let to reflect on a loss that came despite a 41-point performance from Jaylen Brown, who shot 16-of-29 from the field.

Kristaps Porzingis added 24 points but Jayson Tatum was restricted to 15 points.

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said his team’s 12 turnovers had been the difference.

“When you play against another great team, those 10-12 possessions are super, super critical,” Mazzulla said. “I think Denver did a beter job of taking advantage of those than we did.”

Boston remain on top of the Eastern Conference with a 48-14 record. Denver meanwhile are third in the West at 43-20, one game back from leaders Minnesota.

In other games on Thursday, Luka Doncic completed a triple double to help the Dallas Mavericks edge past the Miami Heat 114-108.

Slovenian ace Doncic finished with 35 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists as Dallas staged a late rally to end their three-game losing streak.

The Mavs trailed 101-100 with just over four minutes remaining but pulled clear to clinch victory ater a flurry of late three-pointers.

Doncic received scoring support from Kyrie Irving with 23 points while four other Dallas players made double figures.