Jokic comes through for West-leading Nuggets

Timberwolves win for new coach; Raptors edge Hawks

MIAMI — Nikola Jokic’s numbers were big, as usual.

And his shooting touch at the end was perfectly soft.

Jokic had his fourth triple-double of the season — 29 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists — and his high-arching shot in the lane with 2.4 seconds left lifted the Western Conferenceleading Denver Nuggets to a 103-99 win over the Miami Heat on Tuesday night.

“That’s my kind of shot,” said Jokic, who has 20 career triple-doubles. “I love floaters, all kind of floaters.”

Jamal Murray had 18 points, Trey Lyles added 15, Paul Millsap had 12 and Torrey Craig finished with 11 points and 16 rebounds for the Nuggets, who outrebounded Miami 50-38 and had a 23-11 edge in second-chance points.

It came on the second night of a back-to-back that started Monday in Houston, and without Gary Harris — sidelined with left hamstring tightness.

“Hell of a win,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “I don’t know if it’s a statement win or not. But it’s a win where we had every reason to use an excuse for the loss. And we don’t want to be a team that makes excuses. We want to be a team that finds ways when everything is stacked against us.”

Dion Waiters returned to the lineup and scored 15 points for Miami, which got 13 apiece from Bam Adebayo and Kelly Olynyk, and 12 each from Hassan Whiteside, Josh Richardson

and Justise Winslow.

TIMBERWOLVES 119, THUNDER 117: In Oklahoma City, Andrew Wiggins had a season-high 40 points and 10 rebounds, and the Timberwolves beat Oklahoma City in Ryan Saunders’ first game as Minnesota’s interim coach.

Saunders, just 32 years old, is the son of former Timberwolves head coach Flip Saunders. The team fired Tom Thibodeau on Sunday.

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 20 points and Dario Saric added 15 for the Timberwolves.

Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook missed two 3-pointers in the closing seconds that would have given the Thunder the lead. He finished with 25 points and 16 assists.

Paul George scored 27 points and Steven Adams added 20 points and 12 rebounds for Oklahoma City.

Thunder reserve center Nerlens Noel was taken off the court on a stretcher in the third quarter after being hit by Wiggins’ elbow on a dunk attempt. There was no immediate word on Noel’s condition.

RAPTORS 104, HAWKS 101: In Toronto, Serge Ibaka scored the winning basket with 17 seconds remaining and Toronto won its sixth straight home game.

Kawhi Leonard scored 31 points, Pascal Siakam had 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Kyle Lowry scored 16 points as the Raptors earned their sixth consecutive win over the Hawks.

John Collins had 21 points and 14 rebounds, Jeremy Lin scored 20 points and Trae Young added 19 for the Hawks, who have lost four of five. PACERS 123, CAVALIERS 115: In Cleveland, Thaddeus Young scored 26 points, Bojan Bogdanovic had 23 and Indiana held off Cleveland’s comeback bid and handed the Cavaliers their 10th straight loss.

Cleveland has the worst record in the league at 8-33. The Cavaliers suffered another injury when forward Larry Nance hurt his right knee in the first quarter and didn’t return.

Victor Oladipo had 17 points and Domantas Sabonis had 15 for the Pacers, who have won seven of eight.

Jordan Clarkson scored 26 points for Cleveland. Alec Burks scored 19 points, Tristan Thompson had 15 points and 13 rebounds and rookie point guard Collin Sexton scored 14.

76ERS 132, WIZARDS 115: In Philadelphia, rookie Landry Shamet made eight 3-pointers and scored 29 points, both career-highs, and Joel Embiid had 20 points and 10 rebounds to lead Philadelphia to a rout of Washington.

Jimmy Butler added 20 points and Ben Simmons had 19 points, nine assists and five rebounds for the 76ers, who won their fourth straight and seventh of nine.

Bradley Beal scored 28 points for the Wizards. SUNS 115, KINGS 111: In Phoenix, Kelly Oubre Jr. matched his career high with 26 points, including a one-handed rebound jam with 11.1 seconds to play, as Phoenix snapped a six-game losing streak by rallying from a 21-point deficit to beat turnover-prone Sacramento. WARRIORS 122, KNICKS 95: In Oakland, Calif., Klay Thompson scored 43 points to lead Golden State past New York. CLIPPERS 128, HORNETS 109: In Los Angeles, Tyrone Wallace came off the bench to score a team-high 27 points as LA beat Charlotte.