Brooklyn Nets @ Denver Nuggets
Thursday, December 14, 2023 at 9:00 PM ET
Ball Arena, Denver, CO | Game ID: 22300322
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
DEN 29 23 38 34 124BKN 22 17 28 34 101
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Jokic gets his 10th triple-double of the season as the Nuggets beat the Nets 124-101
DENVER -- — Nikola Jokic became the first NBA player with at least 10 triple-doubles in seven straight seasons as the Denver Nuggets beat the Brooklyn Nets 124-101 on Thursday night for their third consecutive win.
Jokic had 26 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists in his 115th career triple-double during the regular season. Denver also was bolstered by the return of Jamal Murray , who missed Tuesday's game at Chicago with ankle soreness. He scored 16 points, and Peyton Watson added 18 for the defending champion Nuggets.
"Hey, with Nikola, life becomes a lot easier," Denver coach Michael Malone said. “He's just a heck of a player — 26 points, 10 assists, 15 boards, getting to the foul line and doing it in an efficient manner. But what I was probably most pleased about was Nikola's defense. I wanted to be aggressive. I want to be at a level to be disruptive and I think Nikola set the tone with that tonight.”
Denver, which improved to 10-1 at home, was especially tough on Brooklyn’s 3-point shooters. The Nuggets held the Nets to 26.7% from beyond the arc (8 of 30).
“Our defense was amazing,” Jokic said. “I think defense won the game for us. It was good to have a win like that.”
Playing the second of back-to-back games on the road, the Nets were missing Dennis Smith Jr ., who did not make the trip while continuing to recover from an upper-back injury. They were led by Spencer Dinwiddie 's 17 points, with Cam Thomas adding 13.
Brooklyn coach Jacque Vaughn said the Nets were playing “a team that was rested and ready for us. It was a tough back-to-back, the emotional and mental part of it. We just didn't have it tonight.”
Up by 13 at halftime, the Nuggets broke loose for 38 points in the third quarter with Jokic putting the finishing touches on the surge by driving for a layup in the waning seconds of the period. They led 90-67 going into the fourth and went up 103-78 midway through the period on a breakaway dunk by Christian Braun .
Denver played much of the final period with its reserves and maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way.
Murray scored 14 points in the first half when the Nuggets opened a 52-39 lead, the fewest points they've allowed in a half all season.
UP NEXT
Nets: Visit the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night.
Nuggets: Host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night.
DEN KarmaHide StintsShow StintsHide PMShow PMHide KarmaShow KarmaHide ScoresShow Scores
Who
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
DENAG A. Gordon
CB C. Braun
DJ D. Jordan
HT H. Tyson
JH J. Holiday
JM J. Murray
JP J. Pickett
JS J. Strawther
JO Jokic
MP M. Porter Jr.
NJ N. Jokić
PW P. Watson
RJ R. Jackson
ZN Z. Nnaji
BKNAB A. Brooks
CJ C. Johnson
CT C. Thomas
DF D. Finney-Smith
DS D. Sharpe
HG H. Giles III
JW J. Wilson
MB M. Bridges
NC N. Claxton
RO R. O'Neale
SD S. Dinwiddie
TW T. Watford
DEN/BKN the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur