By Rob Woollard
LOS ANGELES, Oct 31, 2023 (AFP) – Nikola Jokic bagged the 107th triple double of his career as the Denver Nuggets extended their unbeaten start to the season with a 110-102 victory over the Utah Jazz on Monday.
Serbian star Jokic finished with 27 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds in another dominant performance by the reigning NBA champions, who made it four wins out of four after leading virtually from start to finish.
Denver led by 10 points after the first quarter and were always in control thereafter, stretching their advantage to 17 points at one stage in the third quarter.
Jokic’s latest triple double leaves him tied with LeBron James and Jason Kidd for the fourth most triples in NBA history.
Jokic received scoring support from Aaron Gordon, who posted 21 points with seven rebounds while Jamal Murray added 18 points — including a trio of three-pointers — in a comfortable win for Denver.
Lauri Markkanen led the Utah scoring with 27 points.
In other games on Monday, Stephen Curry delivered his second 40-point game of the season as the Golden State Warriors routed the New Orleans Pelicans 130-102 on the road.
Curry, who scored 41 points in Friday’s victory over Sacramento, was once again back to his mesmeric best with a 42-point haul that included seven three-pointers.
New Warriors recruit Chris Paul added 13 points off the bench while Moses Moody and Trayce Jackson-Davis also finished with 13 apiece.
– ‘White hot’ Curry –
Zion Williamson and C.J. McCollum led the New Orleans scorers with 19 points each.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr was left in awe of Curry’s latest masterpiece.
“He’s white hot,” Kerr said of Curry.
“It’s amazing watching him. He looks better than ever at 35. But he puts the work in every summer, keeps looking for ways to get better — he’s constantly searching for edges in his training … just stunning to watch.”
Kerr was also encouraged by his team’s third straight away win following last week’s opening night defeat to Phoenix.
“After opening night I thought it’s going to take some time, we had to get the new guys accustomed to what we do,” Kerr said.
“It’s incredible to bring Chris Paul off the bench as your back-up point guard — he’s a Hall-of-Famer and still playing at an incredible level.
“It changes everything when you can start a game off with Steph Curry and then bring on Chris with a great second unit.”
In Milwaukee, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard combined for 58 points as the Bucks sunk the Miami Heat 122-114.
Milwaukee surged into a 25-point lead early in the fourth quarter before a ragged final few minutes allowed Miami to close the gap to just six points with 1min 22sec remaining.
– ‘Sloppy’ Bucks –
Tyler Herro’s 35 points led Miami while Jimmy Butler finished with 13 points.
Antetokounmpo got into the Halloween spirit early by turning up to the postgame press conference dressed as the Incredible Hulk.
“Obviously sometimes it’s going to be a little bit sloppy,” Antetokounmpo said.
“But at the end of the day that’s going to happen sometimes. When you’re up by 20 you’ve got to put them away and we weren’t able to do that tonight.”
In Memphis, 35 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists from Luka Doncic — including six three-pointers — powered the Mavericks to a 125-110 win over the Grizzlies.
The Mavericks are also unbeaten with three wins from three games to leave them second in the Western Conference behind the Nuggets.
In the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics are also 3-0 after a 126-107 blowout of the Washington Wizards.
Jaylen Brown’s 36-point haul led the Celtics, with Jayson Tatum adding 33. Brown’s points tally included eight three-pointers from 13 attempts.