Nikola Jokic posted 28 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds to fuel the visiting Denver Nuggets to a 137-134 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday.
While Jokic made the key plays down the stretch, Jamal Murray led Denver with 31 points to go with 11 assists. Michael Porter Jr. chipped in 24 points to help the Nuggets snap a three-game skid.
Tyrese Maxey scored 42 points and Guerschon Yabusele had a career-high 28 for Philadelphia, which continued to play without Joel Embiid (knee) and Paul George (finger). The Sixers had won their previous four games.
The Nuggets led 115-111 after Aaron Gordon calmly knocked down a 3-pointer with just over seven minutes left. Porter followed with a dunk as the visitors took a six-point lead.
Shortly thereafter, Eric Gordon and Maxey combined for 14 points in a span of less than three minutes as the Sixers went ahead 125-122 with about three minutes left.
That’s when Jokic took over.
He made a 3-pointer to tie the game at 125-125, then converted a three-point play with just under a minute left to put his team in front.
His 3-pointer with 39.8 ticks remaining snapped a 130-130 tie, and finally his floater in the lane created a 135-132 lead with 12.7 seconds left.
Down by three, the Sixers had two chances to tie in the final 10 seconds.
On their first possession, they ended up settling for a two-point attempt, and Kelly Oubre Jr. (27 points) tipped in the miss to slice the deficit to one. Then, after two Murray free throws, Yabusele attempted a tough heave from half court that fell short at the buzzer.
Denver led 38-36 after one quarter and by a 73-69 margin at intermission. The Nuggets were in front by as many as eight in the third quarter and still led by six in the waning seconds before Ricky Council IV’s 3-pointer at the buzzer drew the hosts within 103-100 heading into the final period.
Council hit another 3-point early in the fourth before a steal that led to Oubre’s transition layup to tie the game at 105.
–Field Level Media
