DENVER– As his marquee match-up with phenom Victor Wembanyama took the national spotlight, Nikola Jokic showed all and sundry that he is still the NBA’s best big man.
Jokic, the back-to-back league MVP in 2021 and 2022, fell one assist shy of a triple-double with 39 points, 11 rebounds ans 9 dimes. And he made it look easy, drilling 17 of 29 field goals as Denver trounced San Antonio, 132-120.
Michael Porter Jr aided the Nuggets’ cause with 26 points and 7 boards. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope sank a pair of 3s for 16 points for Denver, which connected on 56.2 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from long distance.
Wembanyama acquitted himself well, finishing with 22 points and 11 rebounds. But he barely had any help in an offense that missed 51 of 93 shots and while converting only 14 of 37 from 3.
After a recent road where Denver went just 1-4, Nuggets coach Micoach Michael Malone tweaked his line-up back at home at Ball Arena. It worked.
DeAndre Jordan logged minutes behind Jokic and veteran, who made his mark during his time with the Clippers, registered six points and five rebounds in six minutes in the first half. Jordan made all of his and made all three of his three field goals.
After a close first quarter, the Nuggets blew the game with open with a 33-17 run to finish the third quarter. That gave Denver a 23-point lead entering the fourth period.
