Jokic’s NBA-leading 20th triple-double leads Nuggets to win

Nikola Jokic had 30 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists for his league-leading 20th triple-double and the short-handed Denver Nuggets handed the Charlotte Hornets their seventh straight defeat, 119-105 on Saturday night.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 15 points and Bruce Brown and Michael Porter Jr. each had 14 for the Nuggets, who snapped a string of four straight road losses.

Denver played without Aaron Gordon (rib contusion) and Jamaal Murray (knee inflammation), but outscored the Hornets 62-45 in the second half.

P.J. Washington had 22 points and Gordon Hayward added 21 for Charlotte. LaMelo Ball finished with 18 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds. The Hornets endured another rough night from the foul line, converting just 17 of 29 attempts. Charlotte is 28 of 52 from the stripe in its last two home games.

KNICKS 126, JAZZ 120

Jalen Brunson scored 22 of his 38 points in the first half, Josh Hart had 11 points off the bench in his Knicks debut and New York outlasted Utah.

Julius Randle added 31 for New York, which has won three of four to improve to 31-27. R.J. Barrett scored 20 points before fouling out, and Immanuel Quickley finished with 15.

Hart, acquired Wednesday night from Portland, made a quick impact on his new team while adding seven rebounds and four assists.

Lauri Markkanen scored 29 points to lead the Jazz, who lost for the fourth time in five games. Jordan Clarkson had 24 and Talen Horton-Tucker added 23 off the bench.

76ERS 101, NETS 98

Joel Embiid had 37 points and 13 rebounds, James Harden scored 29 points in his first game in Brooklyn since being traded a year ago to begin a Big Three breakup, and Philadelphia beat the Nets.

The 76ers got a victory instead of overtime when Spencer Dinwiddie’s 3-pointer was ruled too late after a video review.

Harden added six rebounds and six assists after being booed in introductions and then early in the game. He arrived in January 2021 to play with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, then asked out and was gone just 13 months later, swapped in a deal for Ben Simmons at last year’s trade deadline.

Mikal Bridges scored 23 points in his first game with the Nets, but missed a layup that would have given the Nets the lead with about 2 seconds left. Harden then made two free throws with 0.9 seconds to go, and Dinwiddie’s shot after a timeout was too late.

LAKERS 109, WARRIORS 103

D’Angelo Russell had 15 points, six assists and five rebounds in his Lakers return after being acquired from Minnesota at the trade deadline, Dennis Schroder scored 26 points, and Los Angeles beat Golden State.

The Lakers’ LeBron James sat out his second straight game with a left foot injury since becoming the NBA’s all-time scoring leader Tuesday against Oklahoma City. Reigning NBA Finals MVP Stephen Curry of the Warriors was sidelined for a third game in a row with an injured left leg.

Jordan Poole had 29 points and six assists with a key go-ahead three-point play with 6:23 remaining, but the Warriors floundered down the stretch of the fourth quarter again.

KINGS 133, MAVERICKS 128, OT

De’Aaron Fox scored 36 points, including six free throws in the final 18.4 seconds of overtime, leading Sacramento over Dallas.

Fox shot 12 of 23 from the field and scored 26 of his points in the fourth quarter and overtime. Domantas Sabonis had 22 points and 14 rebounds for his NBA-leading 44th double-double of the season before fouling out with 1:27 remaining in overtime. Terence Davis also had 22 off the bench for the Kings.

Kyrie Irving scored 28 points and Luka Doncic had 25 points and nine rebounds in the stars’ first game as Mavericks teammates. Irving was acquired by Dallas from Brooklyn on Monday before the trade deadline. Josh Green added 23 points.

CAVALIERS 97, BULLS 89

All-Star Donovan Mitchell scored 19 of his 29 points in the second half and Jarrett Allen had 23 points and 10 rebounds, rallying Cleveland past Chicago.

Mitchell added 10 rebounds and Darius Garland scored 19 for Cleveland, which trailed 61-48 in the third quarter before unleashing a 43-17 run to go up by 13. The Cavaliers won their sixth straight and are 24-6 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

Zach LaVine scored 23 points, Nikola Vucevic had 14 points and 14 rebounds, and All-Star DeMar DeRozan had 16 points and six assists for the Bulls. Chicago was outscored 20-4 to start the fourth and dropped its third in a row.

WIZARDS 127, PACERS 113

Bradley Beal scored 32 points, Kristaps Porzingis and Monte Morris added 17 apiece and Washington shot 70% from the field through the first three quarters of their rout of Indiana.

Washington led 80-57 after its highest-scoring half of the season. The Wizards gave up the first 10 points of the third quarter, bringing back memories of a couple recent games in which they blew 20-point leads, but they steadied themselves quickly and led 104-88 heading into the fourth.

Tyrese Haliburton scored 21 points and Myles Turner had 20 for Indiana, which has lost 15 of its last 17.

HEAT 107, MAGIC 103, OT

Tyler Herro scored 23 points, Jimmy Butler added 22, Gabe Vincent had 20 as Miami rallied to beat Orlando in overtime.

Vincent opened the overtime period with a 3-pointer, Herro scored twice from the lane and the Magic never caught up.

Maarkelle Fultz led the Magic with 17 points. Paolo Banchero had 16 points and 13 rebounds and missed a driving layup in the final seconds of the fourth quarter that was altered by Miami center Bam Adebayo.

Adebayo finished with 13 points, 17 rebounds and six assists for Miami, which overcame a nine-point deficit in the final 2:22 of the fourth quarter to force overtime.

HAWKS 125, SPURS 106

Trae Young had 24 points and a season-high 17 assists, De’Andre Hunter added 24 points and Atlanta beat reeling San Antonio.

The Spurs (14-43), losers of a season-high 12 straight, are a half-game ahead of last-place Houston (13-43) in the Western Conference. Atlanta (29-28) has won two straight and four of six. The Hawks began the game in eighth place in the East.

Atlanta never trailed after Young’s layup early in the third made it 65-64.

Keldon Johnson, San Antonio’s leading scorer this season, was back in the lineup after missing Friday’s double overtime loss at Detroit with left ankle soreness and finished with 25 points. Jeremy Sochan added 18.