Jokic marks record books, Murray scores 53 in Nuggets win – Denver Sports

On the night he tossed his 6,000th NBA assist, joining a rare foursome, Nikola Jokic also put up the fifth 19-19-19 game in NBA history as he, along with 53 points from his sidekick Jamal Murray, powered the Denver Nuggets on the second night of a back-to-back for a 142-135 win over the Dallas Mavericks.

Murray came out ablaze Wednesday night at Ball Arena, torching the Mavericks for 33 points in the first half — the second-most first-half points of his career and tied for the third-most in a half in club history at Ball Arena. Only Jokic and Allen Iverson had done it before in Denver.

By night’s end, Murray had posted the second-highest scoring total of his career with 53 points on 19-of-28 shooting, including nine three-pointers. It was the fifth time this season a Nugget has scored 50 points, something that’s never happened in a single season for this franchise.

“Especially in the first half, he was really, really on fire, and just to get him open somehow, and he’s gonna do the rest,” Jokic said postgame on the telecast.

Head coach David Adelman marveled at the shot-making on display.

“Jamal’s shot-making was insane. So many tough shots off the bounce,” he said. “And then obviously, Joker just creating an offense behind a lot of the attention Jamal got… So offensively, really special night from those two guys. Outrageous numbers from the best tandem in the NBA.”

While Murray stole the moment, Jokic was making history. The three-time MVP nearly posted the fourth 20-20-20 game in NBA history, finishing with 23 points, 21 rebounds and 19 assists. It marked the fifth time a player has gone for at least 19-19-19 since the NBA began tracking all those numbers way back when.

Jokic also hit 6,000 career assists, becoming just the fifth player ever to reach 17,000 points, 8,000 rebounds and 6,000 assists. He joins LeBron James, Jason Kidd, Russell Westbrook and John Havlicek in that exclusive club. Fitting that Kidd was on the other sideline as Dallas’ head coach.

There have now been 64 games of 20-15-15 in NBA history. Jokic has 18 of them — 28% of all such performances ever recorded. And two of them have come in consecutive nights.

The Nuggets needed every bit of Joker’s tricks on the second night of a back-to-back against a Mavericks team that kept fighting despite being eliminated from playoff contention. Denver led by as many as 13 in the third quarter but Dallas kept coming, pulling within one possession multiple times in the fourth.

“When they cut it to one, I do think there was a little bit of a ‘we got to wake up here’ moment, because we were just going back and forth, and we had scored so easy throughout the night,” Adelman said. “That’s a danger zone… I’m just proud that we found a way. Guys made key shots, we executed and got enough stops at the end to win the game.”

Peyton Watson provided a massive lift off the bench, scoring 21 points in just 23 minutes with aggressive drives and timely threes. It was his second game back from a six week absence and his energy on both ends lifted the team’s tired legs.

“Defensively, pushing the pace, he’s versatile. He can attack the paint, he can finish above the rim. So really, really good,” Jokic said of Watson’s performance.

The win marked Denver’s first four-game winning streak since January and improved their clutch record to 20-19 on the season. After struggling mightily in close games for months, the Nuggets are starting to find their footing when it matters most.

It also came on Denver’s 17th game without rest this season — the most in the NBA. This was the fourth time in four weeks the Nuggets played two games within 24 hours. The schedule has been relentless, but Denver is 46-28 and firmly in the No. 4 spot in the Western Conference.

Jokic put up 46 points, 38 rebounds and 36 assists in those 25 hours across the Phoenix and Dallas games with just three turnovers. Absurd doesn’t begin to cover it. Maybe this does — Wednesday was the second time one teammate had a 20-20-15 game and the other scored 50 points. The last time it happened involved Guy Rodgers and Wilt Chamberlain in 1962. It’s just what the best duo in Denver sports history does.

“Those two guys, all the battles they’ve been through,” Adelman said. “They really are the history book of this franchise when it comes to the longevity together, and also the playoffs, and all these wars they’ve been through. We’re very lucky in this city to have these two people playing for our basketball team, representing Denver. These two guys for a decade have just transcended it.”

Seeking the 3 seed

The Nuggets had 10 games left coming into Tuesday. In order to get the No. 3 seed and pass the Los Angeles Lakers here’s what both teams would need to do in the final ten games:

LA: 8-2 or better, they clinch

LA: 7-3 DEN: 10-0

LA: 6-4 DEN: 9-1

LA: 5-5 DEN: 8-2

LA: 4-6 DEN: 7-3

With the Lakers having the tiebreaker it’ll be tough but the back-to-back wins against the Suns and Mavericks keep hopes alive for the Nuggets.

Here’s the full picture of the top seven out West:

RK	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	AWAY	DIV	CONF	PPG	OPP PPG	DIFF	STRK	L10
1	Oklahoma City Thunder (x)	57	16	.781	–	29-6	28-9	11-3	37-9	118.6	107.6	+11.0	L1	9-1
2	San Antonio Spurs (y)	55	18	.753	2	28-7	26-11	12-3	32-14	119.3	111.5	+7.8	W7	9-1
3	Los Angeles Lakers	47	26	.644	10	23-12	24-14	8-7	30-16	116.6	115.1	+1.5	W1	9-1
4	Denver Nuggets	46	28	.622	11.5	22-13	24-15	7-5	28-16	121.1	116.7	+4.4	W4	7-3
5	Minnesota Timberwolves	45	28	.616	12	25-13	20-15	9-7	28-21	118.3	114.4	+3.9	W2	5-5
6	Houston Rockets	43	29	.597	13.5	25-10	18-19	7-6	23-22	114.1	110.2	+3.9	L2	4-6
7	Phoenix Suns	40	33	.548	17	23-15	17-18	10-6	25-21	112.4	111.2	+1.2	L1	4-6