Jokic’s block gives Nuggets victory
DENVER » Nikola Jokic blocked Jae’Sean Tate’s drive to the basket as time ran out and the shorthanded Denver Nuggets escaped with a 95-94 victory over the Houston Rockets on Saturday.
Jokic finished with 28 points and 14 rebounds as the Nuggets won despite the absence of forward Michael Porter Jr.
Porter left the game with 4:50 remaining in the first quarter and didn’t return because of what the team called lower back soreness. Porter missed a fast-break layup early in the game and came up the court gingerly. He stayed in the game for more than four minutes before leaving.
Coach Michael Malone did not have an update on Porter following the game.
Aaron Gordon had nine points, including a pair of corner 3-pointers, his last one with 51 seconds left that gave Denver the lead.
The Nuggets had a chance to go up by three but P.J. Dozier missed a shot with 12.8 left. The Rockets raced down the court and Eric Gordon went into the lane and passed the ball to Tate, who drove baseline and went up for a possible winning basket but Jokic blocked it.
HEAT 118, JAZZ 115 » Tyler Herro scored 29 points,
Kyle Lowry had his 19th triple-double and Miami held off Utah.
Miami led by 19 points with 5 minutes remaining but the victory wasn’t assured until Donovan Mitchell missed a 3-pointer in the closing seconds.
Lowry finished with 20 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Jimmy Butler scored 27 points for the Heat, making two free throws with 10.4 seconds remaining after Utah had cut it to 116-115.
76ERS 114, BULLS 105 » Joel Embiid had 30 points and 15 rebounds to lead Philadelphia
to its sixth straight victory over Chicago.
Furkan Korkmaz matched his career best with seven 3-pointers and added 25 points for the Sixers, who topped Chicago for the second time in four nights. SUNS 121, HAWKS 117 » Devin Booker scored 38 points, Frank Kaminsky added 16 off the bench and Phoenix rallied from a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Atlanta.
Mikal Bridges found Kaminsky streaking down the middle of the lane for a dunk with 45 seconds left that gave the Suns a 116115
lead, their first of the final quarter. After Atlanta’s Trae Young missed a 3-pointer, Booker hit Jae Crowder for a layup and a 118-115 advantage. MAVERICKS 107, CELTICS 104
Luka Doncic hit a higharching 3-pointer at the buzzer, another magical moment for the All-Star to give Dallas a victory over Boston.
Doncic took the inbound with 11 seconds remaining, dribbled past midcourt toward the left wing and lifted the shot over former teammate Josh Richardson.