Jordan Poole scored 39 points, and the Washington Wizards overcame a career-high 56 by Nikola Jokić to beat the Denver Nuggets 122-113 on Saturday night and snap their 16-game losing streak. (More Basketball News)
Jamal Murray (hamstring), Aaron Gordon (calf) and Dario Saric (ankle) were all out for Denver, which left Jokic as something of a one-man show for the Nuggets. He took 38 shots from the field - also a career high - and had 16 rebounds and eight assists.
Jokic's previous career high was 50 points, at Sacramento on Feb. 6, 2021.
The Wizards (3-18) won for the first time since Oct. 30 after their 16-game skid matched a franchise record.
Poole made a career-high nine 3-pointers, and Washington as a team made 16. Denver went 5 of 24, which is why the Nuggets couldn't fully take advantage of Jokic's dominance.
The Wizards were up 69-57 at halftime, and although Jokic scored 23 points in the third quarter, Washington was still up by six when he went to the bench at the start of the fourth. Denver was down 108-95 when he returned with 7:35 remaining.
Doncic does it all for streaking Mavericks
Luka Dončić had 30 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists for his second straight triple-double, Kyrie Irving scored 29 points and the Dallas Mavericks extended their winning streak to seven games with a 125-118 win over the Toronto Raptors.
Doncic's second triple-double of the season was the 79th of his career, moving him past Wilt Chamberlain and James Harden and into sole possession of seventh on the all-time list.
Klay Thompson scored 20 points as the Mavericks extended the NBA라이브 바카라 longest active winning streak.
Doncic had 15 points, eight assists and six rebounds by halftime. He banked in a 35-foot 3-pointer at the second-quarter buzzer to give Dallas a 70-54 lead at the break.
Scottie Barnes had 19 points and a career-high 14 assists for Toronto. Gradey Dick scored 27 points and Jakob Poeltl had 20.
Toronto trailed by 24 before cutting the deficit to five points, 120-115, on Dick라이브 바카라 3 with 1:35 left in the fourth. But reviews of a goaltending call and a defensive foul went against the Raptors.
Morant stars as Grizzlies get rare win in Boston
Ja Morant had 32 points, nine assists and nine rebounds, and the Memphis Grizzlies snapped a 10-game losing streak in Boston with a 127-121 win over the Celtics.
Jaren Jackson Jr. added 27 points and nine rebounds for Memphis, which won in TD Garden for the first time since Nov. 27, 2013. The Grizzlies have won eight of their last nine.
Jrue Holiday had 23 points for the Celtics, who went 18 for 60 from the 3-point line. Jaylen Brown and Payton Pritchard each finished with 22 points.
The Celtics erased a 14-point, third-quarter deficit, taking a 97-94 lead early in the fourth. Memphis rallied and led 117-115 with less than four minutes to play. The Grizzlies then scored seven straight to get it back up to 124-115 and were able to close it out.
Marcus Smart played in TD Garden for the first time since being dealt to Memphis as part of the three-team trade that brought Kristaps Porziņģis to Boston in 2023. He played 19 minutes but was only 1 of 11 from the floor, finishing with three points.
Smart checked into the game at the 8:50 mark of the first quarter and acknowledged a standing ovation from Celtics fans, stopping to wave to the crowd.
