Nikola Jokic scored 35 points on 16-of-19 shooting and collected 15 rebounds and seven assists as the Denver Nuggets posted a 122-108 victory over the host Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night.
Jamal Murray added 23 points and eight assists and Aaron Gordon had 17 points and seven assists as the Nuggets registered their fifth straight victory.
Reserve Bruce Brown added 14 points and seven rebounds, Christian Braun scored 12 points and backup Jonas Valanciunas had 10 points and seven rebounds as Denver won for the eighth time in 10 games this season.
Domantas Sabonis had 19 points and eight rebounds and his backup Drew Eubanks made 8 of 9 shots while contributing 19 points and seven boards for the Kings. DeMar DeRozan scored 18 points and Russell Westbrook had 14 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds for Sacramento, which lost for the fourth time in five games.
The Kings made 48.2% of their field-goal attempts, including 10 of 33 (30.3%) from behind the arc. Zach LaVine and reserve Malik Monk added 12 points apiece for Sacramento.
Denver shot 51.2% from the field and knocked down 13 of 33 (39.4%) from 3-point range. The Nuggets owned a 48-35 rebounding edge.
Murray scored 10 points during a 16-2 spurt early in the fourth quarter as Denver turned a one-point edge into a 101-86 lead.
After Murray’s second 3-pointer during the run, Valanciunas and Brown followed with baskets to account for the 15-point lead with 7:10 left.
A short time later, Brown made a 3-pointer and Valanciunas sank two free throws as Denver led 106-89 with 5:39 left.
Sacramento responded with a 10-2 run and moved within 108-99 on Monk’s layup with 3:49 left.
Jokic answered with a three-point play to get the lead back to 12.
When the Kings made another run to move within seven, Jokic canned a 3-pointer to give the Nuggets a 116-106 lead with 1:04 remaining.
Brown added a 3-pointer with 45.9 seconds left as Denver closed it out.
Sacramento finished the third quarter with an 8-2 run to trail 85-82 entering the final stanza. DeRozan opened the fourth with a basket to move the Kings within one.
Jokic had 19 first-half points to help Denver hold a 60-56 halftime lead. Sabonis had 13 in the half for the Kings.
