Jokic stars for Denver
MILWAUKEE (AP) —There’s something about playing in Milwaukee that brings out the best in Nikola Jokic.
Just over a year after recording the first triple-double of his career at the BMO Harris Bradley Center, Jokic wrapped up the feat in the first half on the same floor Thursday night.
Besides Jokic’s big night, the Denver Nuggets put together one of the best 3-point shooting nights in league history in a 134-123 victory over the Bucks.
Denver matched a franchise record with 24 3-pointers, one shy of the NBA record, on 40 attempts.
“Each guy kind of had their own little stretch,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “Jamal (Murray) got going in the third quarter, and we rode him and ran some plays for him. Gary Harris had it going, and Nikola shot it well.”
Jokic finished with 30 points, 15 rebounds and a career-high 17 assists, reaching a triple-double with 1:54 remaining in the second quarter. That was the quickest triple-double in the NBA in the last 20 seasons, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
He now has 11 career triple-doubles and five this season, four of which have come since Jan. 27.
“I just started playing well and making shots,” Jokic said. “I didn’t have any extra motivation or anything like that though. I’m just playing the same way I always play. Maybe I was a little more aggressive tonight, but I’m playing the same.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo also recorded a triple-double, finishing with 36 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists for his ninth career triple-double, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for most in Bucks history.
Harris added 28 points and Murray had 26 for the Nuggets, who led by double digits for most of the fourth quarter.
In Minneapolis, the Timberwolves were flat, facing a double-digit deficit for long stretches of the game.
This is why they traded for Jimmy Butler and signed Taj Gibson, for fourthquarter lifts like these.
Gibson scored a season-high 28 points and Butler added 24, providing the Timberwolves with the production and energy for a 119-111 comeback victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night.
Butler and Gibson, the former Chicago teammates, muscled their way to the basket with a fierce determination down the stretch. Butler drove along the baseline and flicked a short pass to Gibson in the lane, where he dropped in a layup and converted a three-point play for a 110-104 lead with 3:59 left.
“What he and Jimmy have brought to the team has really changed things for us,” said Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau, who had them both with the Bulls. “Those guys, they weren’t going to let us lose.”
Jeff Teague pitched in 20 points and Jamal Crawford added 15 for the Timberwolves, who rallied from a deficit as large as 15 points in the second quarter and 12 points late in the third to raise their home record to 24-7 on an emotional evening that started with a tribute to former coach and executive Flip Saunders.
Except the Lakers had the mojo for much of the first three quarters. Julius Randle had 23 points and nine rebounds, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Brandon Ingram each scored 17 points.