Nikola Jokic almost perfect in Nuggets’ romp over Grizzlies

Peyton Watson gets start, makes Grizzlies pay for their “disrespect”

Perfect games occur only on the baseball diamond, but the Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic came mighty close on a basketball court Thursday night.

The beefy center with the soft touch and magical court vision was a perfect 11 for 11 from the field and 3 for 3 from the foul line en route to 26 points as the Nuggets destroyed Memphis, 142-105, at Ball Arena.

Jokick left the game late in the third quarter — with the crowd chanting “MVP” — shortly after he dished off a fastbreak assist to Christian Braun to secure a triple-double. Jokic had 10 assists and 14 rebounds. The only blemishes in his 30 minutes on the floor were three turnovers.

The win extended a season-best six-game win streak for the Nuggets (2310), whose 142 points were a season-high.

Denver’s lead blew up to 32 points in the third quarter with Jamal Murray and Jokic putting on a clinic of fundamental, two-man basketball. Murray scored 23 on 9-of-12 shooting, including 4 for 6 on 3-pointers. He added nine assists.

“Jamal and Nikola were a combined 20 for 23 tonight, which is incredible,” coach Michael Malone said. “I don’t know how many MVPS you could say this about, but Nikola doesn’t care about, ‘How many shots he’s getting.’

“He was 11 for 11 tonight. He doesn’t care about that. If Jamal has got it going, he’s clapping for Jamal. He takes more joy in his teammates’ success (than his own) and that’s the true definition of being selfless. And he lives it every day.”

The Grizzlies came to town riding a four-game winning streak, sparked by the return of star point guard Ja Morant, who came back after serving his 25-game suspension. But Morant was scratched because of illness. His presence wouldn’t have made much difference Thursday night.

“I was proud of our guys, (because) once we learned about Ja not playing, just before tipoff, our guys handled their business,” Malone said. “There was no letdown.”

Denver shot 57.3% from the floor vs. 42.5% for Memphis. The Nuggets had a season-high 43 assists and committed just 12 turnovers.

“That’s incredible,” Malone said.

Jokic led Denver to a 65-48 halftime lead when it was clear that the Grizzlies were going to get blown out. He scored 15 points on 7-for-7 shooting, including knocking down a buzzer-beater 3-pointer to end the first quarter.

The only other game in which Jokic shot 100% from the field in a game when he shot at least 10 times was on Oct. 20, 2018, vs. the Suns. He scored 35 points on 11-of-11 shooting (including three 3-pointers) and finished with 11 rebounds and 11 assists.

Thursday marked the third time in Jokic’s career that he posted a triple-double when he didn’t miss a shot from the field. He and Wilt Chamberlain are the only players in NBA history to have multiple triple-doubles on 100% field goal shooting.

Peyton Watson got the start at forward for Denver, replacing Aaron Gordon, who suffered lacerations to his face and hand from a dog bite on Christmas. The injuries to Gordon’s shooting hand and face required 21 stitches.

Watson, who’s still evolving as an offensive player, was given scant respect by the Grizzlies, who left him wide open on the perimeter. He finished with 20 points on 6-of-14 shooting. He drained four of his 10 3-point shots.

“I loved it,” Watson said of the Grizzlies daring him to shoot. “It made my job easy. I knew I was going to be open and I knew they were sagging off me, so I took it as disrespect and I shot every one, confidently.”

Added Jokic: “They didn’t respect him much, but that’s fine. We know what he’s capable of doing. We kept feeding him the ball.”

Malone said he made a late decision to start Watson in place of Gordon. He was thrilled with how the 21-year-old responded.

“They didn’t guard him early but he stayed with it and he didn’t lose confidence,” Malone said. “That can mess with you, but I thought Peyton did a really good job. I think he knows we have faith and confidence in him, and let’s be honest, Peyton Watson knows he’s a huge part of our future.”

The Nuggets, winners of nine of their last 10 games, hosted Oklahoma City on Friday night.