Exhausted Jokic scores 35 points, Nuggets hold off Curry, Warriors 108-105
DENVER (AP) Nikola Jokic plans to spend an off day at the swimming pool with his daughter. He's not going to spend a moment thinking about basketball.
The Denver big man has certainly earned a break.
An exhausted Jokic had 35 points and 13 rebounds in more than 36 minutes of action to help the Nuggets hold off the Golden State Warriors 108-105 on Wednesday night.
Reggie Jackson, filling in for an injured Jamal Murray, added 20 points to help the defending champion Nuggets improve to an NBA-best 8-1 overall and 6-0 at home.
“We feel like it’s a good group of guys and we are playing the right way,” Jokic said. “I think that’s why we’re winning the games.”
Jokic played the entire third quarter in an effort to help out a struggling bench unit. He also exerted energy trying to fend off Warriors big man Kevon Looney. Jokic had a chance to wrap it up with 15 seconds left and the Nuggets up 107-105, but missed two free throws.
Stephen Curry's floater in the lane to tie it up was off the mark and the ball went out of bounds off the Warriors. Jackson hit one of two free throws with 3.5 seconds remaining, and Klay Thompson couldn't get a shot off at the buzzer.
“I thought we competed at a high level,” said Thompson, who had 15 points. “We were right there, gave ourselves a chance to win in a very hard place to win.”
Michael Porter Jr. scored 17 points for Denver, and Aaron Gordon added 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Curry, fresh off winning the Western Conference player of the week award, was hounded all night, mostly by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and finished with 23 points.
Denver led by 12 in the first half, trailed by five early in the fourth quarter and then rallied behind Jackson and Jokic.
What kept the Warriors close was their bench. Golden State's reserves outscored Denver's backups 42-12.
“I thought that our bench struggled tonight," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “Our young guys, I didn’t think were really prepared to come into the game and play tonight. First time I’ve seen that this season and they’ll learn from it.”
Malone went with veteran Justin Holiday over one of the younger players in the fourth quarter.
“I’m not the Salvation Army. I’m not just going to give minutes,” Malone said. “You have to continue to earn your minutes.”
Both teams were short-handed, with the Nuggets missing Murray for a second straight game because of a strained right hamstring. The Warriors were without p Draymond Green for personal reasons and Gary Payton II due to an illness.
The show within the show was the matchup between former MVPs Curry and Jokic.
Jokic showed his court vision, finishing with five assists and none better than his pass to a cutting Jackson to make it 105-102 with 1:09 remaining. Jokic also came out with a mindset to take more shots against Golden State. He finished 14 of 25, going 1 of 8 from 3-point range.
“He approaches the game different game to game," Looney explained. "I felt like he was really aggressive today.”
Curry flashed his long-range magic, hitting 6 of 13 from behind the arc. He's drained four or more 3-pointers in nine straight games to start the season.
“It was a hell of a fight. Our guys really competed and gave themselves a chance to win,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “Tough, tough way to finish but couldn’t be more proud of them and more excited about our team.”
UP NEXT
Warriors: Host Cleveland on Saturday night after playing seven of their first nine on the road.
Nuggets: At Houston on Sunday night.
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| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00 |  | Kevon Looney vs. Nikola Jokic (Dario Saric gains possession) | ||
| 11:45 |  | +2 | Klay Thompson makes two point pullup jump shot (Dario Saric assists) | 2-0 |
| 11:23 | | +2 | Nikola Jokic makes two point driving floating jump shot | 2-2 |
| 11:05 | | Kevon Looney turnover (lost ball) (Nikola Jokic steals) | ||
| 10:55 | | +3 | Reggie Jackson makes three point jump shot (Aaron Gordon assists) | 2-5 |
| 10:37 | | Klay Thompson turnover (double dribble) | ||
| 10:17 | | +2 | Nikola Jokic makes two point turnaround jump shot (Michael Porter Jr. assists) | 2-7 |
| 10:00 | | Dario Saric misses three point jump shot | ||
| 9:57 | | Nikola Jokic defensive rebound | ||
| 9:51 | | Stephen Curry shooting foul (Aaron Gordon draws the foul) | ||
| 9:51 | | +1 | Aaron Gordon makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 2-8 |
| 9:51 | | +1 | Aaron Gordon makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 2-9 |
| 9:39 | | Stephen Curry misses three point jump shot | ||
| 9:36 | | Michael Porter Jr. defensive rebound | ||
| 9:31 | | Reggie Jackson misses three point jump shot | ||
| 9:28 | | Stephen Curry defensive rebound | ||
| 9:24 | | Klay Thompson misses three point running jump shot | ||
| 9:20 | | Kentavious Caldwell-Pope defensive rebound | ||
| 9:01 | | Nikola Jokic misses three point jump shot | ||
| 8:58 | | Klay Thompson defensive rebound | ||
| 8:50 | | Stephen Curry turnover (out of bounds bad pass) | ||
| 8:37 | | +2 | Aaron Gordon makes two point stepback jump shot (Reggie Jackson assists) | 2-11 |
| 8:20 | | +2 | Kevon Looney makes two point bank hook shot (Stephen Curry assists) | 4-11 |
| 8:20 | | Aaron Gordon shooting foul (Kevon Looney draws the foul) | ||
| 8:20 | | +1 | Kevon Looney makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 5-11 |
| 8:04 | | Michael Porter Jr. misses three point jump shot | ||
| 8:01 | | Warriors defensive rebound | ||
| 7:47 | | Andrew Wiggins misses two point driving floating jump shot | ||
| 7:45 | | Michael Porter Jr. defensive rebound | ||
| 7:36 | | Nikola Jokic misses three point jump shot | ||
| 7:32 | | Klay Thompson defensive rebound | ||
| 7:19 | | Andrew Wiggins misses three point jump shot | ||
| 7:16 | | Aaron Gordon defensive rebound | ||
| 7:12 | | Klay Thompson personal foul (Aaron Gordon draws the foul) | ||
| 7:05 | | Nikola Jokic misses three point jump shot | ||
| 7:04 | | Warriors defensive rebound | ||
| 6:51 | | Klay Thompson misses three point jump shot | ||
| 6:47 | | Aaron Gordon defensive rebound | ||
| 6:41 | | Aaron Gordon misses two point driving layup | ||
| 6:36 | | Aaron Gordon offensive rebound | ||
| 6:36 | | Aaron Gordon misses two point tip layup | ||
| 6:34 | | Aaron Gordon offensive rebound | ||
| 6:34 | | Aaron Gordon misses two point tip layup | ||
| 6:34 | | Klay Thompson defensive rebound | ||
| 6:26 | | Stephen Curry turnover (lost ball) (Nikola Jokic steals) | ||
| 6:22 | | +3 | Michael Porter Jr. makes three point jump shot | 5-14 |
| 6:01 | | +2 | Kevon Looney makes two point driving layup | 7-14 |
| 5:41 | | Nikola Jokic misses two point layup | ||
| 5:38 | | Dario Saric defensive rebound | ||
| 5:23 | | +2 | Klay Thompson makes two point stepback jump shot | 9-14 |
| 5:03 | | +3 | Michael Porter Jr. makes three point jump shot (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope assists) | 9-17 |
| 4:45 | | Reggie Jackson shooting foul (Andrew Wiggins draws the foul) | ||
| 4:45 | | Nuggets 60 second timeout | ||
| 4:45 | | +1 | Andrew Wiggins makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 10-17 |
| 4:45 | | +1 | Andrew Wiggins makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 11-17 |
| 4:33 | | Michael Porter Jr. misses two point stepback jump shot | ||
| 4:29 | | Dario Saric defensive rebound | ||
| 4:16 | | Chris Paul turnover (bad pass) (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope steals) | ||
| 4:13 | | +2 | Michael Porter Jr. makes two point layup (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope assists) | 11-19 |
| 3:52 | | Stephen Curry misses three point jump shot | ||
| 3:49 | | Dario Saric offensive rebound | ||
| 3:46 | | +2 | Dario Saric makes two point hook shot | 13-19 |
| 3:27 | | +2 | Nikola Jokic makes two point layup | 13-21 |
| 3:05 | | Chris Paul misses three point jump shot | ||
| 3:03 | | Nikola Jokic defensive rebound | ||
| 2:53 | | Aaron Gordon misses two point layup | ||
| 2:52 | | Michael Porter Jr. offensive rebound | ||
| 2:52 | | +2 | Michael Porter Jr. makes two point putback dunk | 13-23 |
| 2:52 | | Warriors 60 second timeout | ||
| 2:42 | | Trayce Jackson-Davis misses two point cutting layup | ||
| 2:40 | | Nikola Jokic defensive rebound | ||
| 2:26 | | Trayce Jackson-Davis shooting foul (Nikola Jokic draws the foul) | ||
| 2:26 | | +1 | Nikola Jokic makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 13-24 |
| 2:26 | | +1 | Nikola Jokic makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 13-25 |
| 2:14 | | +2 | Brandin Podziemski makes two point floating jump shot | 15-25 |
| 2:14 | | Julian Strawther shooting foul (Brandin Podziemski draws the foul) | ||
| 2:14 | | +1 | Brandin Podziemski makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 16-25 |
| 2:01 | | Zeke Nnaji misses two point layup | ||
| 1:59 | | Trayce Jackson-Davis defensive rebound | ||
| 1:41 | | Moses Moody misses two point driving layup | ||
| 1:37 | | Jonathan Kuminga offensive rebound | ||
| 1:36 | | Jonathan Kuminga misses two point putback layup | ||
| 1:34 | | Zeke Nnaji defensive rebound | ||
| 1:31 | | Brandin Podziemski shooting foul (Christian Braun draws the foul) | ||
| 1:31 | | Christian Braun misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | ||
| 1:31 | | Nuggets offensive rebound | ||
| 1:31 | | +1 | Christian Braun makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 16-26 |
| 1:12 | | +3 | Moses Moody makes three point bank jump shot (Jonathan Kuminga assists) | 19-26 |
| 1:00 | | Julian Strawther misses three point jump shot | ||
| 0:56 | | Moses Moody defensive rebound | ||
| 0:46 | | +2 | Moses Moody makes two point jump shot (Jonathan Kuminga assists) | 21-26 |
| 0:46 | | Nuggets 60 second timeout | ||
| 0:28 | | Christian Braun misses two point driving layup | ||
| 0:26 | | Chris Paul defensive rebound | ||
| 0:04 | | Jonathan Kuminga misses two point hook shot | ||
| 0:01 | | Zeke Nnaji defensive rebound | ||
| 0:00 | | End of period |
| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11:49 | | Reggie Jackson misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 11:45 | | Moses Moody defensive rebound | ||
| 11:29 | | +2 | Jonathan Kuminga makes two point turnaround jump shot | 23-26 |
| 11:15 | | +3 | Reggie Jackson makes three point jump shot (Zeke Nnaji assists) | 23-29 |
| 10:53 | | +2 | Moses Moody makes two point dunk (Trayce Jackson-Davis assists) | 25-29 |
| 10:34 | | Reggie Jackson misses three point jump shot | ||
| 10:32 | | Klay Thompson defensive rebound | ||
| 10:25 | | +3 | Klay Thompson makes three point pullup jump shot | 28-29 |
| 10:05 | | +3 | Christian Braun makes three point jump shot (Zeke Nnaji assists) | 28-32 |
| 9:37 | | +2 | Klay Thompson makes two point driving floating bank jump shot | 30-32 |
| 9:24 | | Trayce Jackson-Davis kicked ball violation | ||
| 9:15 | | Michael Porter Jr. misses two point driving floating jump shot | ||
| 9:12 | | Trayce Jackson-Davis defensive rebound | ||
| 9:07 | | Klay Thompson misses two point stepback jump shot | ||
| 9:04 | | Christian Braun defensive rebound | ||
| 8:54 | | +2 | Reggie Jackson makes two point driving finger roll layup (Michael Porter Jr. assists) | 30-34 |
| 8:42 | | Moses Moody misses three point jump shot | ||
| 8:41 | | Nuggets defensive rebound | ||
| 8:41 | | Trayce Jackson-Davis personal foul (Loose ball) (Michael Porter Jr. draws the foul) | ||
| 8:17 | | Reggie Jackson misses three point jump shot | ||
| 8:14 | | Michael Porter Jr. offensive rebound | ||
| 8:11 | | Michael Porter Jr. misses two point reverse layup | ||
| 8:08 | | Chris Paul defensive rebound | ||
| 8:02 | | Jonathan Kuminga misses three point jump shot | ||
| 7:59 | | Christian Braun defensive rebound | ||
| 7:45 | | +2 | Michael Porter Jr. makes two point cutting layup (Reggie Jackson assists) | 30-36 |
| 7:45 | | Warriors 60 second timeout | ||
| 7:36 | | +2 | Trayce Jackson-Davis makes two point alley-oop layup (Stephen Curry assists) | 32-36 |
| 7:36 | | Reggie Jackson shooting foul (Trayce Jackson-Davis draws the foul) | ||
| 7:36 | | +1 | Trayce Jackson-Davis makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 33-36 |
| 7:24 | | Stephen Curry personal foul (Nikola Jokic draws the foul) | ||
| 7:13 | | Nikola Jokic misses two point driving floating jump shot | ||
| 7:09 | | Kevon Looney defensive rebound | ||
| 7:06 | | Nikola Jokic blocks Brandin Podziemski's two point driving floating jump shot | ||
| 7:06 | | Nuggets defensive rebound | ||
| 6:52 | | Reggie Jackson misses two point driving finger roll layup | ||
| 6:50 | | Dario Saric defensive rebound | ||
| 6:40 | | Stephen Curry misses three point stepback jump shot | ||
| 6:36 | | Kevon Looney offensive rebound | ||
| 6:25 | | Michael Porter Jr. personal foul (Andrew Wiggins draws the foul) | ||
| 6:20 | | +3 | Stephen Curry makes three point stepback jump shot | 36-36 |
| 5:59 | | +2 | Nikola Jokic makes two point driving layup | 36-38 |
| 5:47 | | Andrew Wiggins misses two point turnaround jump shot | ||
| 5:45 | | Nikola Jokic defensive rebound | ||
| 5:40 | | Brandin Podziemski personal foul (Aaron Gordon draws the foul) | ||
| 5:34 | | Nikola Jokic misses three point jump shot | ||
| 5:31 | | Andrew Wiggins defensive rebound | ||
| 5:16 | | Andrew Wiggins misses three point jump shot | ||
| 5:13 | | Aaron Gordon defensive rebound | ||
| 5:03 | | Kevon Looney personal foul (Nikola Jokic draws the foul) | ||
| 5:00 | | +3 | Collin Gillespie makes three point pullup jump shot | 36-41 |
| 4:42 | | +2 | Brandin Podziemski makes two point reverse layup (Stephen Curry assists) | 38-41 |
| 4:23 | | Kentavious Caldwell-Pope misses three point jump shot | ||
| 4:22 | | Nikola Jokic offensive rebound | ||
| 4:14 | | Nikola Jokic misses three point jump shot | ||
| 4:11 | | Stephen Curry defensive rebound | ||
| 4:07 | | Collin Gillespie personal foul (Stephen Curry draws the foul) | ||
| 4:01 | | +3 | Stephen Curry makes three point jump shot (Dario Saric assists) | 41-41 |
| 3:49 | | +2 | Aaron Gordon makes two point reverse layup | 41-43 |
| 3:36 | | Julian Strawther personal foul (Andrew Wiggins draws the foul) | ||
| 3:30 | | Chris Paul misses two point jump shot | ||
| 3:26 | | Aaron Gordon defensive rebound | ||
| 3:19 | | Aaron Gordon misses two point driving layup | ||
| 3:18 | | Kevon Looney defensive rebound | ||
| 3:06 | | Aaron Gordon personal foul (Kevon Looney draws the foul) | ||
| 3:06 | | +1 | Kevon Looney makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 42-43 |
| 3:06 | | Kevon Looney misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | ||
| 3:04 | | Michael Porter Jr. defensive rebound | ||
| 2:55 | | +3 | Nikola Jokic makes three point jump shot (Reggie Jackson assists) | 42-46 |
| 2:34 | | Klay Thompson turnover (bad pass) (Aaron Gordon steals) | ||
| 2:29 | | Michael Porter Jr. misses three point jump shot | ||
| 2:25 | | Kevon Looney defensive rebound | ||
| 2:17 | | +2 | Chris Paul makes two point pullup jump shot | 44-46 |
| 2:04 | | +3 | Aaron Gordon makes three point jump shot (Reggie Jackson assists) | 44-49 |
| 1:46 | | Stephen Curry turnover (bad pass) (Aaron Gordon steals) | ||
| 1:40 | | Nikola Jokic misses two point reverse layup | ||
| 1:40 | | Nikola Jokic offensive rebound | ||
| 1:40 | | Nikola Jokic turnover (traveling) | ||
| 1:40 | | Nuggets 60 second timeout | ||
| 1:29 | | Nikola Jokic kicked ball violation | ||
| 1:19 | | Dario Saric misses three point jump shot | ||
| 1:16 | | Kentavious Caldwell-Pope defensive rebound | ||
| 1:01 | | Nikola Jokic misses two point turnaround jump shot | ||
| 0:59 | | Aaron Gordon offensive rebound | ||
| 0:59 | | Aaron Gordon misses two point tip layup | ||
| 0:58 | | Aaron Gordon offensive rebound | ||
| 0:58 | | Aaron Gordon misses two point putback layup | ||
| 0:58 | | Nikola Jokic offensive rebound | ||
| 0:57 | |