Nikola Jokic’s 40-point triple-double led the Denver Nuggets to a thrilling 136-134 overtime win over the San Antonio Spurs, halting their 11-game streak.
LOS ANGELES: Nikola Jokic scored 40 points to propel the Denver Nuggets to a 136-134 overtime victory over Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs. The win halted the Spurs’ 11-game NBA winning streak.
Three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic added eight rebounds, 13 assists and three blocked shots for Denver. The Nuggets won their eighth straight game and inched closer to the Los Angeles Lakers for the Western Conference’s third seed.
MVP candidate Wembanyama scored 34 points with 18 rebounds, seven assists and five blocked shots for the Spurs. San Antonio led most of the contest but could not resist the Nuggets’ late surge.
Aaron Gordon, fed by Jokic, threw down a dunk to tie the game at 124-124 with 6.2 seconds left in regulation. Wembanyama’s jumper as time expired clanged off the rim to force overtime.
Gordon’s dunk in the opening minutes of overtime put Denver ahead for good. “It was indicative of what we can be as a group,” said Gordon, who finished with 15 points.
The contest was marked by playoff-level intensity, which Denver embraced. “We like the intensity,” Gordon said. “That’s a really good ball club over there that plays really hard. So they brought it out of us.”
Two weeks before the playoffs start, Gordon called the victory over the West’s second-placed team an important marker. “It’s big,” he said. “I just want us to be ready when the time is coming. This was a good step in that direction.”
Denver’s Peyton Watson drilled a three-pointer to open the contest, but Devin Vassell quickly tied it. The Spurs did not trail again on the way to a 72-65 halftime lead.
Things got testy late in the first quarter when Wembanyama inadvertently caught Jokic in the face with his hand. Angry Nuggets coach David Adelman and forward Aaron Gordon both received technical fouls.
Denver cut the deficit to one on Jokic’s layup early in the third quarter. They trailed by four points going into the final period.
San Antonio pushed their lead to 11 on a Wembanyama dunk with 9:08 left in regulation. Denver battled back to briefly take a one-point lead before the teams finished regulation all-square.
Jamal Murray scored 15 points and handed out 10 assists for the Nuggets. Peyton Watson added 17 points in the victory.
Elsewhere, the Miami Heat beat the Washington Wizards 152-136. Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored a game-high 32 points off the bench for Miami.
Fellow reserve Kel’el Ware added 24 points, 19 rebounds and eight blocked shots. Seven Heat players scored in double figures in the win.