Jokic gets triple-double by halftime in Nuggets' rout of T-wolves

Nikola Jokic posted his 19th triple-double of the season by halftime and the Denver Nuggets rode a 49-point first quarter to a 146-112 rout of the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night.

Jokic finished with 20 points, 16 assists and 12 rebounds. It was the second time in his career the big man has notched a tripledouble by halftime. Jokic took a seat late in the third quarter with the Western Conference leaders ahead by a large margin.

Denver led 49-19 after the first quarter — including a 32-2 run — as the Nuggets shot 79.2% from the floor. SUNS 116, NETS 112 » Deandre Ayton matched his career high with 35 points, Devin Booker scored 19 in his first game since Christmas

and Phoenix Suns held off Cam Thomas and Brooklyn on the road.

The 21-year-old Thomas led a late charge and finished with 43 points, becoming the youngest player in NBA history with three straight 40-point games. He had 44 and a career-high 47 points in his previous two games.

KNICKS 102, MAGIC 98 » Jalen Brunson scored 25 points and made the go-ahead basket with 1:13 left, Julius Randle had 22 points and 14 rebounds, and New York won at Orlando.

Brunson's running bank shot put the Knicks up for good at 94-93.

The teams combined to shoot 10 free throw attempts in the final 7.7 seconds. The only miss was by Orlando's Paolo Banchero, who intentionally tried to set up a tying basket with 2.3 seconds remaining.

PELICANS 116, HAWKS 107 » Brandon Ingram scored 30 points, CJ McCollum added 21 and New Orleans beat visiting Atlanta for its third straight victory.

Jonas Valanciunas had 16 points and 14 rebounds for New Orleans.

The Pelicans led 111-95 when Trey Murphy III hit his fourth 3-pointer of the game with 3:24 to go. Atlanta responded with a 7-0 run, but New Orleans held on. GRIZZLIES 104, BULLS 89 » Ja Morant scored 34 points, Jaren Jackson Jr. added 24 points and five blocks, and Memphis rallied in the fourth quarter at home to beat Chicago.

Desmond Bane finished with 17 points for the Grizzlies, who stopped a threegame skid.