Nikola Jokic’s 56 points not enough as Denver Nuggets fall to Washington Wizards

WASHINGTON – Nikola Jokic joked that he did not mind having his salary deducted after the Denver Nuggets lost their second straight National Basketball Association (NBA) game on Dec 7.

But, in reality, he would be the last person on the team to deserve such treatment, not when he exploded for 56 points.

It was not enough, however, as Washington withstood the Serb’s impressive performance to beat the Nuggets 122-113 at home and snap the Wizards’ 16-game losing streak.

Jokic, who won his third NBA Most Valuable Player award last season, posted a career scoring high – surpassing a 53-point performance in Game 4 of the 2023 Western Conference semi-finals against Phoenix.

He added 16 rebounds and eight assists but it was all to no avail as Washington, buoyed by 39 points from Jordan Poole, won for the first time since Oct 30.

“I think today and the last couple games were really bad for us,” Jokic said, as quoted by the Associated Press. “We are really going in the wrong direction. I think it’s everybody’s fault.

“In my country, where I’m coming from, after this kind of stretch, you’re going to get pay cheque that is a little bit less than you had hoped. Maybe that’s what we need to do. Maybe a little motivation.”

Poole made a career-high nine of Washington’s 16 three-pointers while the Nuggets connected on just five of their 24 attempts from beyond the arc.

Justin Champagnie scored 23 points and Jonas Valanciunas added 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Wizards, who seized control early, outscoring the Nuggets 36-29 in the first quarter and leading 69-57 at half-time.

Jokic went for broke in the third in a bid to turn things around, connecting on nine of an astonishing 20 shot attempts and scoring 23 points, as Denver whittled the gap to six going into the final period.

The Wizards (3-18) pushed their lead back to 13 early in the fourth with Jokic getting some rest on the bench, and Denver (11-10) could not get the deficit below five points the rest of the way.

“Hearing some MVP chants was kind of cool when the MVP (Jokic) was on the floor,” Poole said of the cheers of Washington fans when he went to the free-throw line in the closing seconds.

Elsewhere, Evan Mobley scored a career-high 41 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the league-leading Cleveland Cavaliers in a dominant 116-102 road victory over the Charlotte Hornets.

He set the tone with 23 points in the first quarter, when he made all five of his three-pointers and the Cavs pushed their lead to as many as 22 before taking a 63-52 advantage into half-time.

“He didn’t hit the rim on the threes,” teammate Caris LeVert said of Mobley’s effort. “They were all swishes, like the first four or five... it was definitely a sight to see.”

Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland had 18 points apiece for the Cavs and Jarrett Allen added 11 points and 10 rebounds as Cleveland improved to 21-3.

In Boston, Ja Morant scored 32 points with nine rebounds and nine assists to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 127-121 victory over the reigning champions Celtics.

Jaren Jackson Jr scored 27 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Grizzlies, who fended off the Celtics’ fourth-quarter comeback bid.

Jrue Holiday scored 23 points to lead six Boston players with double-figure scores. Payton Pritchard and Jaylen Brown had 22 apiece while Jayson Tatum was just shy of a triple-double with 17 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists.

There were several triple-doubles elsewhere, however.

Dallas guard Luka Doncic posted his second triple-double in as many games with 30 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists in the Mavericks’ 125-118 victory over the Raptors in Toronto.

Kyrie Irving added 29 points and Klay Thompson 20 as the Mavs secured a seventh straight victory.

Detroit’s Cade Cunningham scored 29 points with 10 rebounds and a career-high 15 assists as the Pistons beat the New York Knicks 120-111 away. AFP