Nikola Jokic lofted another perfect pass and with it came his seventh triple-double of the season.
Jokic’s final fourth-quarter assist led to an emphatic transition dunk from Malik Beasley, and the Nuggets cruised to a resounding 126-110 win over the 76ers. The Nuggets improved to 33-15 overall while underscoring their home dominance; Denver is now 22-4 at the Pepsi Center.
Fresh off his controversial one-game suspension, Jokic was the undisputed conductor. He paced the Nuggets with 32 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists for his 23rd career triple-double, which moves him into a tie for 16th place in NBA history.
76ers guard Ben Simmons had 19 points and 12 rebounds but was just 6 for 17 from the field.
After a discomforting first half, the Nuggets finally tightened the screws in the third quarter with the 76ers shooting just 41 percent. Jokic, playing the whole quarter, had eight points, five rebounds and five assists while the Nuggets carried an 11-point lead into the fourth quarter. Jokic slingshotted a pass through a double-team and hit a cutting Torrey Craig for an easy dunk midway through the quarter to bolster the lead.
The 76ers were at a huge disadvantage missing all-stars Joel Embiid and Jimmy Butler due to injuries. That, in part, explained Denver’s jarring dominance in the paint. The Nuggets rode Jokic and Mason Plumlee (17 points) to a 74-40 advantage down low.
Saturday’s back-to-back (after Friday’s win over Phoenix) was supposed to be the reintroduction of the Nuggets’ original starting lineup. But Jamal Murray sat out with a sprained left ankle he sustained against the Suns – only the second game he’s missed in his career.
Monday in Memphis will be the Nuggets’ next chance to reach that landmark though Michael Malone is confident he already knows what he’ll get from that outfit.
“Itap kind of strange,” Malone said. “For me, and this may sound weird, I don’t need to see them play together. I know what we’re capable of. I’ve coached all these guys, I’ve seen them in the past. I saw what we were able to do last year at the end of the season. … We’ll get there. We still have a lot of basketball left.”
But given Murray’s ailment and the fact that Gary Harris showed a noticeable limp in the third quarter after recently returning from injury himself, itap possible their unlucky streak, dating back to the second game of the year, continues.
For the second night in a row, a sterling first-half offensive performance was mitigated by an uninspiring defensive one. The Nuggets held a 77-68 lead after two quarters, but the 76ers had four guys in double figures and forced numerous defensive breakdowns either with backdoor cuts or poor 3-point closeouts. Jokic’s first-half double-double (20 points, 11 rebounds) helped overshadow the miscues even as Malone stewed on the sidelines.
76ers coach Brett Brown offered a thorough analysis of the Nuggets prior to Saturday’s tip-off. He praised their rebounding acumen, lauded their unselfish passing and lamented what to do with Jokic.
“Whatap the game plan?” Brown said. “Who are the matchups? How are you going to deal with him as kind of a point-center bringing the ball up the floor?”
Brown said he saw similarities in the trajectories of both franchises.
“I respect what they have built from afar,” Brown said, acknowledging the shrewd work of Denver’s front office. “I think even the aggressive draft they had last year with that risky sort of pick (of Michael Porter Jr.) that, had he been healthy, is probably going in the top three, as an example. Then you look at the youth and the balance and their shooters. Jokic has sort of come out of left field to be better than probably any of us expected. They’ve done a really good job of growing their program.”
Jokic played as motivated a first quarter as he has all season. He poured in 17 points on 12 shots while no other Nuggets player took more than five attempts. Each Philadelphia defender that tried to slow him – Simmons, Mike Muscala or Corey Brewer – was helpless against his bruising, aggressive moves. He even grabbed seven rebounds and hit two 3-pointers for good measure, but the Nuggets’ defense was shaky enough not to create any separation.
