Photo Credit: Getty Images
Nikola Jokic (30) delivered a dominant 35-point performance as the Denver Nuggets bounced back to topple the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder 140-127 in the NBA on Monday.
Jokic had been forced to take a back seat to Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in an emphatic 127-103 Denver loss to Oklahoma City on Sunday in the first game of back-to-back meetings between the two teams. But three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic seized control of Monday's second instalment to snap Oklahoma City's seven-game unbeaten streak with a clinical victory. Denver's balanced offence proved too much for the Thunder, with six players finishing in double figures led by Jokic.
Jamal Murray backed Jokic with 34 points as the Nuggets outscored Oklahoma City 73-54 in the second half, inflicting the heaviest points total conceded by the Thunder this season. "We came out ready to play," Murray said afterwards. "We knew we were going to have to play 48 minutes of defence, so we wanted to have the right mindset. It's always tough to play here - they've got a great crowd and a great team. But I've got the best player in the world on my team," Murray added, referring to Jokic. Luguentz Dort led the Thunder scorers with 26 points while Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 25.
Oklahoma City remain in first place in the Western Conference on 53-12, while Denver moved up to second at 42-23, 11 games back from the leaders.
Elsewhere Monday, the Los Angeles Lakers made a losing start to life without LeBron James, crashing to defeat against the lowly-ranked Brooklyn Nets in New York. James, who limped out of Saturday's defeat to Boston with a groin problem and faces up to two weeks on the injured list, watched from the sidelines as the Nets grabbed a deserved victory at the Barclays Center.
The Lakers looked ready to put defeat to the Celtics behind them after opening up a 15-point lead early in the second quarter after outscoring Brooklyn 28-16 in the first. But Brooklyn stormed back to outscore Los Angeles 32-19 in the second to take a slender
