Nets edge Nuggets, put to waste another Jokic triple-double

Mikal Bridges scored 25 points, Spencer Dinwiddie had 15 points and 16 assists, and the visiting Brooklyn Nets beat the Denver Nuggets, 122-120, on Sunday, March 12 (Monday, March 13, Manila time).

Nic Claxton had 20 points, Dorian Finney-Smith scored 15, Cameron Johnson added 14, Seth Curry had 12 points, and Royce O’Neal finished with 11 for Brooklyn. The Nets have won five of their last six.

Nikola Jokic had 35 points, 20 rebounds, and 11 assists for his 27th triple-double, Michael Porter Jr. scored 23, Jamal Murray had 16 before sitting out the fourth quarter with a sore knee, and Aaron Gordon finished with 13 for the Nuggets. Denver has lost three straight overall and two straight at home.

Brooklyn led by 10 early in the second quarter but a 15-2 run gave Denver a 60-55 lead. Murray’s 34-footer at the horn gave the Nuggets a 69-61 halftime lead.

The Nets dominated the third quarter. A 21-6 run gave them a 92-83 lead, Murray hit a three-pointer that cut the deficit to 5, but O’Neale and Joe Harris hit three-pointers that gave Brooklyn a 98-87 lead heading into the fourth.

It was 109-94 early in the fourth before Denver started to chip away. Christian Braun hit a three-pointer and Jokic converted a three-point play to make it 109-99.

A Finney-Smith three-pointer made it 116-105 but Brooklyn went cold from the field, allowing the Nuggets to rally.

A three-point play by Braun and a floater by Jokic got the Nuggets within 116-110. The Nets missed again and Jokic fed Bruce Brown for a three-pointer, Bridges missed from 26 feet and Jokic’s turnaround made it 116-115.

Finney-Smith fed Dinwiddie for a baseline jumper and hit a three-pointer to make it 121-117. Jokic hit two free throws, Braun blocked Dinwiddie and Jokic split a pair of foul shots to make it 121-120 with 41.6 seconds left.

After a successful challenge on a foul call on Jokic, Denver had two chances to take the lead but Brown and Jokic missed short jumpers. Bridges split a pair of free throws with 1.8 seconds left and Jokic missed a three-pointer at the buzzer. – Rappler.com