Move over, Kareem. And Wilt? Heads up: The Joker’s coming for you next.
Nuggets center Nikola Jokic late Saturday night moved into the No. 2 spot in NBA history for triple-doubles all-time by a 7-footer, notching his 22nd such performance in a 124-102 rout of the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Pepsi Center.
The big Serbian finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists in just 28 minutes of action, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the No. 2 slot among triple-doubles (21) in the third quarter. Chamberlain holds the league record for triple-doubles by a 7-footer with 78.
It was the sixth triple-double of the season for Jokic, who was pulled in the third period with the Nuggets up 97-69, serenaded by chants of “M-V-P” from the Pepsi Center faithful as he went to the bench.
“It’s good, it’s good,” said the Denver center, who’d collected 15 points and seven assists by halftime. “Just because we’re 20-4 at home, so we’re playing really good at home … so that 3-1 (homestand), I’m going to take that.”
Teammate Jamal Murray dropped 16 of his 26 points by the intermission, which saw the Nuggets (31-14) take a 70-46 lead into the break. Denver, which went 8-3 during a stretch of 11 games in 19 days to open January, drained 27 of its 41 first-half shots and 10 of its initial 20 from beyond the arc — six of those coming from Jokic (three treys) and Malik Beasley (three).
“Playing team basketball and moving the ball puts a lot of energy into the building,” Murray said. “A lot of guys get to make a couple shots, and then when we’re moving the ball, everybody gets to shoot.”
Eleven Nuggets — including reserve forward Tyler Lydon — recorded at least one bucket against Cleveland (9-38), a contest that was expected to be a laugher from the jump got there, eventually.
The Cavs playing the second night of a back-to-back and off the heels of a 115-99 thumping at Utah Friday evening, got a few jabs in early before the hosts started landing one bloody haymaker after another.
Cleveland took a 10-7 lead thanks to a couple of quick buckets from Cedi Osman before the hosts responded with a 5-0 run of their own, punctuated by Beasley’s second 3-pointer of the night with 8:01 to go in the frame.
The visitors zipped back in front, 20-17, before the Nuggets countered with a 12-0 run to wrest control of the joystick for the rest of the night, a surge that started on Jokic’s 3-pointer with 5:01 left in the period and that was capped by Murray’s trey two minutes later. Denver closed the first period on a 20-5 run and almost did to the Cavs what the Golden State Warriors did on Tuesday night here, netting 37 points in the first period and draining seven treys over the first 12 minutes of the contest.
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