Jokic Records Triple-Double, Nuggets home victory
Jokic Records Triple-Double, Nuggets Blow Out Suns in Home Opener.
Nikola Jokic got his first triple-double of the season in just their second game of 2018-19, scoring 35 points, grabbing 12 rebounds and dishing out 11 assists without turning the ball over to lead his team a 119-91 win against the Suns Saturday night.
All five Denver starters, a bunch that also included, Jamal Murray (26), Gary Harris (18), Will Barton (14) and Paul Millsap (14), finished in double-figures in scoring in front of a sellout crowd of 19,592.
The Nuggets, who came into the contest leading the NBA in defensive rating, limited their opposition, which put up 121 points in its opener, to just 16 in the first half. Denver also shook off an uncharacteristically poor shooting performance in a win against the Clippers Wednesday, going 50.6 percent from the field against Phoenix.
The 7-foot, 250-pound Serbian went 11-for-11 from the field, including 3 of 3 from 3-point range, and sank all but one of his one his 11 free-throw attempts while adding three steals and a block in 31 minutes to help his team move to 2-0 on the season.
Jokic’s 35-point triple-double on perfect shooting from the floor was just the second in NBA history. The other one was recorded by Wilt Chamberlain. Jokic became just the second Nugget to record a triple-double in in the first two games of the season, joining Fat Lever.
A 3-pointer from point guard Jamal Murray just before the buzzer to end the second quarter gave the Nuggets a commanding 65-49 lead as they closed out the second quarter on a 16-6 run. They went into the break having shot 60 percent from the field and handed out 16 assists to one another.
Denver came earlier in the frame when Barton went down with a right hip injury after scoring on a layup and did not return to action. The bench was a different story to begin the second quarter. With Monte Morris, Malik Beasley, Juancho Hernangomez, Trey Lyles, and Mason Plumlee on the floor, the Suns countered with four starters and Mikal Bridges. Denver immediately hemorrhaged points, as they struggled to keep pace with Phoenix’s pick and roll duo of Booker/Ayton. The unit was absolutely appalling, and Malone quickly went back to his starters, who didn’t fair much better after some questionable foul calls.
The Nuggets held Suns center Deandre Ayton, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, to five points and eight rebounds in 23 minutes after going for a double-double in his NBA debut.
Devin Booker was the Suns’ leading scorer for Phoenix with 25 points. TJ Warren added 16 and Isaiah Canaan chipped in 15.
The Nuggets host the two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors at 6 p.m. on Sunday.
