DENVER: Nikola Jokic had 30 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds for his third straight triple-double to lead the Denver Nuggets past the Miami Heat 135-122 Friday night.
The triple-double was Jokic’s NBA-best fifth of the season.
After missing the past three games in concussion protocol, Jamal Murray had 28 points and became the first player in Nuggets franchise history with 1,000 career 3-pointers.
The Heat played most of the game without Jimmy Butler, who turned his ankle on a drive against Murray seven minutes into the game and did not return.
Denver raced out to a 17-6 lead in the opening 4:10 as part of a 40-point first quarter in which it made 14 of its 20 shots. Though it fought back to get within seven in the final five minutes of the game, Miami never led and trailed by as many as 26 in the second half.
Tyler Herro had a team-high 24 points and 11 assists for the Heat.
Takeaways
Heat: Miami’s fourth loss in its past five games came with the added pain of losing Butler, who is second on the Heat with 18.1 points per game.
Nuggets: Though concerns continue to persist about the drop off between its starting five and its bench, Denver continued its recent surge, winning for the sixth time in the past seven games after an 0-2 start.
Key moment
After carrying an 11-point lead into halftime, the Nuggets outscored the Heat 15-4 in the opening 3:03 of the third quarter to extend its advantage to 86-64.
Key stat
Russell Westbrook continued a strong recent stretch, dishing out a season-high 10 assists for Denver. It’s just the second time he’s had double-digit assists in his past 44 games.
Up next
The Nuggets host the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday, the same day the Heat continue a six-game road swing at the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Nikola Jokic’s third straight triple-double leads Nuggets past Heat 135-122
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Nikola Jokic’s third straight triple-double leads Nuggets past Heat 135-122
- Jamal Murray had 28 points and became the first player in Nuggets franchise history with 1,000 career 3-pointers
Guardiola hails Man City’s ‘massive’ win over Newcastle
- Guardiola’s second-placed side closed the gap on leaders Arsenal to just two points with their tense victory at the Etihad Stadium
MANCHESTER, United Kingdom: Pep Guardiola labelled Manchester City’s 2-1 win over Newcastle on Saturday as a “massive” moment in the Premier League title race.
Guardiola’s second-placed side closed the gap on leaders Arsenal to just two points with their tense victory at the Etihad Stadium.
Nico O’Reilly put City ahead in the first half and restored the lead before half-time after Lewis Hall had equalized.
City weren’t at their best in the second half, but they held on to pile pressure on spluttering Arsenal, who travel to Tottenham for the north London derby on Sunday.
Guardiola knew it was essential to make Arsenal sweat.
“Massive. Newcastle is an incredible team, awesome in physicality and speed they have up front. Physicality in the middle. Really tough but the team was unbelievable,” he said.
“It’s coming in best part of the season. Every single game will be similar to today.”
After finishing without a trophy last season, City are back in the hunt for the seventh English title of Guardiola’s reign.
They will have a game in hand on Arsenal after this weekend and are guaranteed to win the title if they win their last 11 league matches.
Guardiola has embarked on an expensive overhaul of City’s squad in the last 12 months, shedding aging stars like Kevin De Bruyne, Ederson and Kyle Walker and bringing in the likes of Marc Guehi, Antoine Semenyo and Rayan Cherki.
The Spaniard is well aware that his new generation largely lacks the experience of winning under the pressure of a title race, which made their gritty success against Newcastle even more meaningful.
“70 percent of the players have never been in that situation, and I don’t play. So we have to live it, they know that every game will be like this,” he said.
“Especially at home, with five home games left. Today was the best crowd of the year, it was unbelievable with our people, really proud to be manager of these incredible people and fans.
“Of course in terms of points it’s important, but we have to improve to have chance to compete until the end. Now we deserve three more days off. Then another battle in Leeds.”
Guardiola singled out O’Reilly for praise after the young England midfielder’s pair of clinical finishes showed he won’t be affected by the strain of chasing Arsenal.
“Nico give us in the middle that physicality that we need. He now plays in his position,” he said.
“He has always played that, he is so complete and so young. I am really pleased the academy produced these incredible players, Nico, Phil (Foden), Rico (Lewis).”
