Jokic shined for Nuggets against Kings and Harden reactivated Clippers

He Serbian triple-double Nikola Jokic in the vibrant 130-129 victory of Denver Nuggets on his visit to Sacramento Kings and the 41 points converted by James Harden to reactivate Los Angeles Clippers against Utah Jazz marked the day of the NBA this Monday, on the eve of the NBA Cup final between Milwaukee Bucks and Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Nuggets went from having a 23-point lead in the second period to losing by 10 in the fourth, before turning the score around with a 14-2 run that paved the way for them to a hard-fought victory against the Kings.

Jokic sealed a triple-double of 20 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists, Jamal Murray scored 28 points and Russell Westbrook also touched the triple-double with 18 points, 9 rebounds and 10 assists.

For the Kings, De’Aaron Fox scored 29 points, Domantas Sabonis contributed 28 points and 14 rebounds and Malik Monk contributed 25 points and 10 assists.

The Nuggets have three wins in a row and are fifth in the West with a balance of 14 wins and 10 losses. The Kings occupy twelfth position, outside the postseason zone, with 13 wins and 14 losses.

Harden scored 41 points and led the Clippers at home against the Jazz to snap a three-game losing streak.

Norman Powell contributed 29 points and Ivica Zubac achieved a double-double of 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Clippers, who momentarily overtook the Lakers and are ninth with 15 wins and 12 losses. The Jazz are second to last in the West (5 wins and 20 losses).

The Heat trailed by 19 points in the fourth quarter and managed to force overtime with a triple by Tyler Herro with five seconds left, but came up short on their visit to the Pistons despite a triple-double of 35 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists from Jimmy Butler.

For the Pistons, Cade Cunningham recorded a triple-double of 20 points, 11 rebounds and 18 assists and Malik Beasley contributed 28 points, with 7 triples.

Miami fell after four consecutive victories and is sixth in the East with a balance of 13 wins and 11 losses. The Pistons are tenth in the same Conference (11-16).

The Cavaliers overwhelmed the Nets (130-101), who lost their sixth game in the last seven. On coach Kenny Atkinson’s return to Brooklyn, where he worked for three seasons, the Cavs gave a test of strength with seven players scoring over 10 points.

Evan Mobley was the leading scorer with 21 points and Caris LeVert contributed 19 and six triples; Donovan Mitchell scored 18, Georges Niang had 17, Isaac Okoro and Jarrett Allen each contributed 12 and Darius Garland scored 11 and had 6 assists.

The Cavaliers confirmed themselves as the best franchise in the NBA with a balance of 23 wins and 4 losses. Atkinson’s team had started the season with 15 consecutive victories.

Without Joel Embiid, out for at least a week due to a broken nose, the 76ers won on their visit to the Hornets driven by 40 points from Tyrese Maxey and 33 from Paul George.

Maxey and George each hit six three-pointers on a night in which Andre Drummond dominated in the paint with 15 rebounds.

For the Hornets, LaMelo Ball contributed 15 points (5 of 15 on field goals) and 11 assists.

Nikola Vucevic scored 24 points and Coby White added 19 as the Bulls managed to beat the Raptors 122-121. Thus, Chicago added its fourth win in the last six games.

Talen Horton-Tucker contributed 15 points and Ayo Dosunmu scored 12 as the Bulls had seven players in double figures in scoring.

Lonzo Ball had missed six of seven three-point attempts before converting a decisive one at the end of the game.

RJ Barrett scored 32 points and Gradey Dick scored 27 for Toronto, which came close to overcoming a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t and accumulated its fifth straight loss.