NBA round-up: Nikola Jokic records triple-double on his return as Denver Nuggets beat injury-hit Philadelphia 76ers
There were also wins for the Memphis Grizzlies, Portland Trail Blazers, Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night.
Monday 28 January 2019 07:44, UK
Nikola Jokic claimed his seventh triple-double of the season on his return to the floor as the Denver Nuggets dispatched the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers 126-110 on Saturday night.
'The Joker' was back in the lineup after serving a one-game suspension for leaving the bench area during a minor altercation in Wednesday's game against the Utah Jazz and registered 32 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists to demonstrate exactly why many expect him to become the Colorado ballclub's first All-Star since Carmelo Anthony eight years ago.
Fellow center Mason Plumlee scored a season-high 17 points and Will Barton added 16 with Torrey Craig, Malik Beasley and Monte Morris also scoring in double figures as the Nuggets won for the 12th time in their past 16 games.
JJ Redick scored 22 points and Corey Brewer added season bests of 20 points and four steals for the 76ers, who were without Joel Embiid (back), Jimmy Butler (wrist) and Wilson Chandler (hamstring).
Brett Brown's team scored the first seven points but the 76ers were unable to make a late-game charge and Denver led by as many as 18 while cruising to the finish.
Denver shot 51.6 per cent from the field and was eight of 24 from 3-point range as they secured the victory at the Pepsi Center to keep the heat on the Golden State Warriors at the top of the Western Conference standings.
Golden State Warriors 115-111 Boston Celtics
Golden State Warriors won the battle of the two hottest teams in the NBA as they battled to a 115-111 win over the Boston Celtics at the TD Garden.
The win was the Warriors' 10th straight overall and ninth in a row on the road, the longest run in the NBA this season.
Boston, who had won their last five games overall and their last 10 at home, saw that winning streak snapped as the Warriors showed composure befitting of the NBA champions down the stretch.
Klay Thompson broke the eighth tie of the final nine minutes, converting two free throws with 46.1 seconds remaining after Marcus Smart nailed a 3-pointer with 1:08 to play to draw the teams even at 111.
After Thompson gave the Warriors the lead, the Celtics took two shots at reclaiming the upper hand, but Smart and Al Horford both missed 3-pointers.
Draymond Green missed two free throws with 8.6 seconds remaining to allow the Celtics potentially to get one final opportunity to tie the game or win it, but typically he made up for it with his hustle and managed to grab the offensive rebound before feeding Stephen Curry, who was fouled with 6.2 seconds to go.
Curry made two free throws to ice Golden State's fourth straight win on a five-game trip that ends Monday at Indiana.
Kevin Durant led the Warriors with 33 points and nine rebounds, while Curry finished with 24 points and Thompson 21.
The Celtics, were led by Kyrie Irving who showed off his outstanding ball handling and finishing skills as recorded a 32-point, 10-assist double-double.
Indiana Pacers 103-106 Memphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies ended an eight-game losing streak with a 106-103 victory Saturday, sending the visiting Indiana Pacers to a defeat in their first game since Victor Oladipo's season-ending injury.
Mike Conley scored 22 points and Jaren Jackson added 20 whilst veteran center Marc Gasol also scored 18 points as the Grizzlies won for just the second time in their last 16 games.
The Pacers, rocked after Oladipo ruptured a quad tendon in his right knee against Toronto in midweek, saw their three-game winning streak come to an end with Bojan Bogandovic top scoring for them with 21, whilst Myles Turner got 14 points and Domantas Sabonis added 11.
Memphis' staunch defense forced 17 Indiana turnovers and Conley added 11 assists for the Grizzlies, who opened up an 11-point lead in the opening quarter and never trailed in the game despite playing for the second time in two nights.
The Grizzlies led 53-42 at halftime and still had an 11-point lead nearly four minutes into the third quarter before the Pacers made a run. Indiana outscored Memphis 14-4 to tie the game 67-67, but the Grizzlies were undeterred.
Memphis closed out the third quarter on a 9-2 run to push the lead back to nine points at 78-69 as the Pacers entered the fourth quarter with a deficit for just the 13th time this season. The Pacers answered again, cutting the deficit to 85-82 with five minutes remaining, but Gasol hit two 3-pointers down the stretch and Conley added another to put the game away.
The hosts' Justin Holiday scored 16 points, getting the best of brother Aaron Holiday, who had seven for the Pacers. The Pacers lost on the road for the first time since January 9 at Boston and are now 11-1 with at least two days of rest before a game.
San Antonio Spurs 126-114 New Orleans Pelicans
LaMarcus Aldridge poured in 28 points in just three quarters of play, and Rudy Gay added 22 points, including 16 in the third quarter, as the visiting San Antonio Spurs rolled past the short-handed New Orleans Pelicans 126-114 on Saturday.
Aldridge, who also had 12 rebounds, was questionable to play right up until tipoff because of a sore left wrist but scored 10 of the Spurs' first 20 points on the way to his 15th double-double of the season.
The Pelicans were without three of their top four scorers this season as Anthony Davis (who missed his fourth straight game with a left index-finger fracture), Nikola Mirotic (right calf strain) and Julius Randle (right ankle sprain) all sat out.
San Antonio led by just three points at the half but scored 13 of the first 17 points of the third quarter before settling for a 96-85 lead heading for the final period.
The Spurs then started the fourth quarter with a 9-2 run to put the game away but suffered a blow midway through the final period when Gay, who also had 11 rebounds for San Antonio, twisted his left ankle and had to be helped to the locker room.
Jrue Holiday led the Pelicans with 29 points, while Jahlil Okafor added 24 points (on 10-for-12 shooting) and a season-high 15 rebounds for New Orleans, who have lost five of their past six, with three of those games away from home.
Aldridge paced the Spurs with 16 points in the first half as San Antonio led 60-57 at halftime. The Spurs led by as many as 10 points over the first two quarters and hit 6 of 12 shots from beyond the arc.
San Antonio played without guard DeMar DeRozan (sore left knee) and reserve forward Davis Bertans (personal reasons).
Atlanta Hawks 109-120 Portland Trail Blazers
CJ McCollum notched his first career triple-double with 28 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists as the Portland Trail Blazers, who were missing star man Damian Lillard, defeated the visiting Atlanta Hawks 120-111.
All five starters scored in double figures for the Trail Blazers, who made it five wins out of six against struggling Atlanta (now 15-33).
Seth Curry scored a season-high 22 points, while Al-Farouq Aminu had 17, Moe Harkless 16 and Jusuf Nurkic 15 as Lillard sat out the game with a sore left knee.
Trae Young hit 30 points on 11-for-15 shooting to go with eight assists for the Hawks, who have split the first two games of their seven-game road trip whilst John Collins added 21 points as Atlanta went into half-time leading by a single point.
Following the restart, the Blazers outscored the Hawks 22-11 to start the third quarter to go ahead 85-75 but the Hawks responded in the third and then closed it to 101-100 on a three-pointer by Vince Carter with 7:17 to play.
After that though, the Blazers responded with a 13-0 run - 11 of the points provided by Curry - to put the Hawks away.
Atlanta got no closer than nine points from their opponents the rest of the way as Portland made it 21 wins from 28 matches at the Moda Center this season to stay fourth in the Western Conference.
