DENVER — Nikola Jokic scored 35 points and missed a triple-double by two assists as the Denver Nuggets outlasted the scrappy Oklahoma City Thunder 113-107 on Saturday night.
Jokic, who pulled down 12 rebounds, made all six of his shots from the floor and all six of his free throws in the second half as the Nuggets managed to split the season series with the Thunder 2-2.
Aaron Gordon added 20 points and Will Barton scored 18 for the Nuggets, who blew a 16-point first-half lead before recovering in the final minutes.
Gordon's pair of free throws with 1:48 left broke a 105-all tie. Monte Morris stole the ball at 1:01 and his 3-pointer with 47.8 seconds remaining gave the Nuggets a 110-105 lead.
After Theo Maledon hit two free throws, Jokic capped the scoring with a three-point play with 23 seconds left.
Maledon's 20 points led six Thunder players in double figures.
Despite the difference in records — Denver is 44-31, Oklahoma City is 21-53 — the Thunder outscored the Nuggets by 16 points in their season series, which included a 119-107 OKC win in Denver on March 2.
The Nuggets opened a 16-point lead in the first half and led 58-42 before the Thunder trimmed seven points off their deficit in two trips downcourt.
Aleksej Pokusevski hit a 3-pointer and Tre Mann sank another 3 while getting fouled by a charging Morris. Mann's four-point play made it 58-49 and his 47-foot heave at the halftime buzzer hit the back of the iron.
Oklahoma City is one of the teams that's had a lot of success double- or triple-teaming Jokic with Denver teammates Jamal Murray (ACL) and Michael Porter Jr. (back surgery) sidelined.
“Teams are basically saying somebody else has to beat us. OKC beat us here the last time, they double-teamed Nikola every time in the post. We did not handle it well,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said before tipoff.
In the Thunder's win at Denver earlier this month, Jokic scored 22 points and the rest of the starting lineup managed just 27.
This time, his fellow starters chipped in 53 points to go with his 35.
TIP-INS
Thunder: G Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (ankle) was held out. “We’re going to have a conversation with him here in the next couple of days to discuss the rest of the year because the game-to-game is not sustainable, in terms of just in, out, on the nightly basis. We’re obviously running out of games here,” coach Mark Daigneault said. ... F Josh Giddey is making good progress from his hip injury, Daigneault said, but he's done for the year. ... F Jeremiah Robinson-Earl is expected to return from a foot injury in the next few days.
Nuggets: After shooting lights-out from behind the arc against the Suns just 48 hours earlier, Denver struggled mightily, going 5 for 19 on 3-pointers in the first half against the Thunder. The starters were just 2 of 10 from 3-point range before halftime.
NEVER MIND
The Thunder used an 8-0 run to pull to 60-57 in the first two minutes of the third quarter, prompting the Nuggets to call a timeout. During the stoppage, the officials realized Mann's 3-pointer was no good because he'd stepped out of bounds. So when the teams returned to the floor, the Nuggets had a 60-54 cushion.
UP NEXT
Thunder: Visit the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night.
Nuggets: Visit the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night.
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