Nikola Jokic's triple-double led the Denver Nuggets beat the Phoenix Suns, 119-91 on Saturday night. It was all Denver throughout the whole game as they dominated the young Phoenix Suns team led by Devin Booker.
Jokic finished the game with 35 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists, 4 steals and 1 block shooting 11 for 11 from the field including 3 for 3 from down town. Jokic made history as he joined Wilt Chamberlain as the only players to score 30 points or more without missing a single field goal. Chamberlain did it back in 1966 and 1967. The arena was filled with MVP chants as Jokic was shooting a free throw. He only missed one of his 11 free throw attempts.
Meanwhile, Jamal Murray performance was overshadowed by Jokic's unbelievable feat. Nobody was talking about him but he scored 26 points with 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 1 block. He shot 3 for 7 from beyond the arc. Gary Harris added 18 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 1 block shooting 46.7 percent from the field while Paul Millsap had 14 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks.
Denver's starting forward Will Barton finished the game with 14 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal but left the game due to an injury. After falling from a reversed lay-up in the third quarter, he injured his right hip and needed to be wheeled off the court.
Jokic is a very smart player. He has a lot of tricks and he use all of those in a nice way. He is very hard to contain and he has a talent that no big men in the NBA can match. He has a skill of both a center and a point guard. DeAndre Ayton had a hard time containing him. Phoenix Suns' coach Igor Kokoskov said that Ayton had to learn a lot matching up against Jokic. He have to be smarter and have to match Jokic's skills and tricks. But Ayton fells to Jokic trap. He couldn't stop him.
Ayton finished the game with only 5 points, 8 rebounds and 1 assists. He shot an awful 28.6 percent from the field. This will be a good learning experience for Ayton. Devin Booker still played terrific as he drops 25 points, 2 rebounds, 7 assists and 1 steal. Rookie Mikal Bridges had a pretty nice game finishing with 10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. He made 2 three-pointers and shot a total of 66.7 percent from the field. Meanwhile, TJ Warren added 16 points while starting guard Isaiah Canaan had 15 points.
Next game for the Nuggets will be against Golden State Warriors on Sunday night and the Suns will face also the Golden State Warriors on Monday night.
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