Jokic shines in the NBA, though Denver stumbles in Cleveland

The Serbian managed to surpass the legendary 'Magic' Johnson in the achievement of triple doubles.

Nikola JokicDavid Richard-Imagn Images/Sipa USA / Cordon Press

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6 de diciembre, 2024

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(WITH AFP INFORMATION) With a barrage of 22 three-pointers, the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Denver Nuggets 126-114 on Thursday ruining another memorable night for Serbia's Nikola Jokic in the NBA.

The center, winner of three MVP (Most Valuable Player) awards, scored a tally of 27 points, 20 rebounds and 11 assists to complete the triple double number 139 of his career.

In this way 'Joker' surpassed in that statistic the mythical Earvin 'Magic' Johnson (138) and only has two players ahead: Russell Westbrook (200) and the already retired Oscar Robertson (181).

Thursday's was Jokic's 10th triple double with at least 20 rebounds, joining Wilt Chamberlain (59), Bill Russell (13) and Elgin Baylor (10) as the only players with at least 10 such performances.

Otherwise, the contribution of the rest of the Nuggets fell short against the in form Cavaliers who continue to dominate the NBA with 20 wins and just three losses.

Their star, Donovan Mitchell, scored 28 points and nailed six of Cleveland's 22 3-pointers (of 48 attempts), which matched his record for the season.

Forward Caris LeVert contributed 21 points and five 3-pointers off the bench and point guard Darius Garland finished with 24 points.

"We needed help from everybody. Jokic is the MVP for a reason, he makes that team phenomenal," Donovan Mitchell acknowledged of his opponent.

In Washington, Luka Doncic also climbed the triple-double rankings with a career-high 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in his Dallas Mavericks 137-101 win over the Wizards.

At 25, the Slovenian point guard caught up with Chamberlain and James Harden for seventh all-time in triple doubles with 78.

His partner Kyrie Irving, with 25 points, was the top scorer for the Mavericks against the Wizards, who accumulated their 16th consecutive loss, equaling the longest losing streak of the capital franchise.

The Mavericks, the reigning runners-up, have won 10 of their last 11 games to climb to third place in the Western Conference (15-8).

Shai shines at home

The West's top dogs, the Oklahoma City Thunder (17-5), crushed the Raptors 129-92 in a 30-point display by point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in his native Toronto.

In New York, the Knicks took advantage of an inspired third quarter to beat the resilient Charlotte Hornets 125-101 and extend their winning streak to four.

Dominican-American center Karl-Anthony Towns scored 27 points and grabbed 16 rebounds for the Knicks, who had forward Mikal Bridges (19 points) on the court for 47 minutes.

Young forward Brandon Miller scored 26 points for the Hornets who, without star LaMelo Ball, led by as many as 13 in the first quarter at Madison Square Garden.

The Phoenix Suns, another franchise orphaned of its leader Kevin Durant, fell 126-124 to the New Orleans Pelicans despite 28 points from Devin Booker.

The Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Sacramento Kings 115-110 with 15 points and 10 rebounds from forward Santi Aldama, the only Spanish survivor in the North American league.

And at the end of the day, the Golden State Warriors ended a streak of five straight losses and, with the loss of Stephen Curry, knocked out the surging Houston Rockets 99-93 with 33 points from the Congolese Jonathan Kuminga.