Nikola Jokic produced 29 points, 17 rebounds and nine assists, Jamal Murray scored 34, and the host Denver Nuggets beat the Charlotte Hornets 129-115 on Thursday night for their ninth straight win.
Aaron Gordon scored 18 points, Julian Strawther had 16 points off the bench and Christian Braun put up 10 points for Denver. Michael Porter Jr. struggled with his shot but pulled down 11 rebounds for the Nuggets, who are unbeaten in eight February games.
Miles Bridges scored a season-high 36 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, Josh Green scored 19 points and Nick Smith Jr. contributed 16 points for Charlotte, which was coming off a 100-97 road win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday. Damion Baugh added 14 points, and Moussa Diabate scored 11 points.
The start of the fourth quarter was a struggle for both teams, but Denver got 3-pointers from Strawther and Russell Westbrook to build a 105-96 lead. Smith made the first basket of the quarter for Charlotte after nearly three minutes, but the Nuggets reeled off seven straight points to lead 112-98.
The Hornets got within 114-105 on two free throws from Bridges with 4:02 left, but Jokic helped Denver retain a comfortable margin. He fed Braun for a layup, hit a floater in the lane and scored off of an offensive rebound that made it 124-114 with 1:08 to go.
Murray also came alive late, hitting an 18-footer and a 3-pointer to help close it out.
As they did Wednesday night at Los Angeles, the Hornets had a strong third quarter. They trailed by eight at intermission, but Bridges scored 18 points in the period, and his 3-pointer forged a tie at 92 with 2:15 left in the frame.
Zeke Nnaji’s putback dunk with 23.6 seconds remaining gave Denver a 99-96 heading into the final period.
The Nuggets led by 10 late in the first quarter, but Charlotte rallied to start the second and tied it at 42 on a layup by Seth Curry. Denver built a 13-point lead before the Hornets were able to cut the deficit to 66-58 entering halftime.
–Field Level Media
