Basketball
DENVER, Jan 20, (AP): Nikola Jokic had 27 points and 12 rebounds before calling it an early night as the Denver Nuggets routed the Oklahoma City Thunder 119-101 on Tuesday.
Clean shaven and sporting a new buzz cut, Jokic also had six assists before taking a seat on the bench with the other starters for the fourth quarter.
Reserve Monte Morris added 15 points and Paul Millsap finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds. The Nuggets have won six straight over the Thunder at home.
Luguentz Dort kept the Thunder close early by scoring 15 of his 20 points in the first half.
The Nuggets began to pull away in the second quarter and stretched it to 26 in the third before Jokic and his fellow starters became spectators.
It was a much-needed confidence boost for the struggling Nuggets (77), who advanced to the Western Conference finals inside the NBA bubble last season. So much so that former Nuggets coach George Karl posted on social media leading up to the game: “It’s early in the season to say this but the Nuggets game against the Thunder is a ‘must win’ for Denver.”
Nuggets guard Facundo Campazzo had the highlight play of the first half, throwing a backward, between-thelegs pass to Morris for a layup.
The Thunder played for the first time since an OT win over Chicago last Friday. Their game against Philadelphia on Sunday was postponed because the 76ers did not have the league-required eight available players to proceed because of contact tracing.
Jazz 118, Pelicans 102
In Salt Lake City, Donovan Mitchell had 28 points and seven rebounds, and the Utah Jazz beat the New Orleans Pelicans 118-102 for their sixth straight victory.
Mitchell also made four of Utah’s 21 3-pointers. Jordan Clarkson added 18 points, six rebounds, and six assists, and reserve Joe Ingles scored 15 points. Rudy Gobert had 13 points, 18 rebounds, and three blocks.
Zion Williamson scored 32 points for New Orleans, and Brandon Ingram had 15. The Pelicans trailed the entire second half after allowing the Jazz to make more than 20 3-pointers for the fourth time in six games.
Williamson gave the Pelicans an early lift in the first half. He converted all five of his first-quarter field goal attempts and capped a 7-0 run with a layup that put New Orleans up 20-18.
Mitchell matched his efficiency. He powered the Jazz offense in the first quarter, scoring 15 points while going 6 for 7 from the field. He converted a three-point play to punctuate an 11-2 run that gave Utah a 29-22 lead.
Mitchell also had a key stretch in the second quarter. He scored and threw a one-handed wraparound pass as he was falling out of bounds out to Bojan Bogdanovic to set up another basket. The two plays bumped Utah back in front 55-49 before halftime.
The Jazz carried that momentum into the third quarter. Utah made 3-pointers on four straight possessions to extend its lead to 73-55. Utah made eight total 3-pointers during the quarter. Clarkson and Ingles scored the final two on back-to-back possessions to push the Jazz lead to 91-69 heading into the fourth quarter.