Nikola Jokic and the month of the triple-double

Denver Nuggets continue to hunt down the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Colorado franchise picked up an away win in New Orleans against a depleted Pelicans team (118–125), their eighth victory in nine games, pushing their record to a sparkling 11–3. The problem is obvious: OKC refuse to slow down, having dropped just one of their first 16 outings.

Jokic shines while New Orleans sink deeper

Nikola Jokic was, once again, the driving force behind the win. The Serbian center delivered 28 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists in 34 minutes, though he also committed nine turnovers. It’s his ninth triple-double of the season and his fifth in November alone, a month in which he has played nine games. Not bad at all.

Payton Watson also played a key role, scoring 32 points – a career high – to help put away a rival that has long since lost its way. The Pelicans wander through the NBA waiting for better days to show up. Soon. Immediately. Their slide continues with seven straight defeats and a 0–3 start under James Borrego, who replaced the fired Willie Green on the bench.

The Louisiana franchise has reached the playoffs only three times in the past decade, and just once made it past the first round. Beyond that, there’s little to speak of. Not even Zion Williamson has shifted the story. Once projected as a generational talent, he has settled into being merely a good player, weighed down by constant physical issues. In his six seasons in the NBA, he has never played more than 70 games.

NBA results

• Cleveland Cavaliers 104 – Houston Rockets 114
• Indiana Pacers 127 – Charlotte Hornets 118
• Philadelphia 76ers 112 – Toronto Raptors 121
• Miami Heat 110 – Golden State Warriors 96
• Minnesota Timberwolves 120 – Washington Wizards 109
• Oklahoma City Thunder 113 – Sacramento Kings 99
• Dallas Mavericks 111 – New York Knicks 113
• Portland Trail Blazers 121 – Chicago Bulls 122

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New Orleans Pelicans

Stats

25 Trey Murphy III
1 Zion Williamson
22 Derik Queen
0 Jeremiah Fears
2 Herbert Jones
15 Jose Alvarado
41 Saddiq Bey
24 Jordan Hawkins
9 DeAndre Jordan
55 Kevon Looney
11 Bryce McGowens
21 Yves Missi
14 Micah Peavy
23 Trey Alexander
4 Hunter Dickinson

Stats

	Min	Pts	TR	OR	DR	Ast	Los	Rec	Blk	S1	S2	S3	RF	CF	Val
25 Trey Murphy III	35	23	2	0	2	3	3	5	1	4/4	2/2	5/12	0	0	0
1 Zion Williamson	29	14	6	3	3	5	3	1	1	2/4	6/13	0/0	0	4	0
22 Derik Queen	30	30	9	4	5	4	4	2	2	5/8	11/16	1/2	0	4	0
0 Jeremiah Fears	25	16	3	0	3	1	0	0	1	2/2	7/11	0/4	0	0	0
2 Herbert Jones	29	9	2	1	1	3	0	2	0	2/2	2/4	1/4	0	6	0
15 Jose Alvarado	18	2	4	1	3	2	0	1	0	0/0	1/2	0/4	0	0	0
41 Saddiq Bey	18	2	2	0	2	2	1	1	0	2/4	0/0	0/3	0	1	0
24 Jordan Hawkins	17	6	1	0	1	1	1	0	0	0/0	3/5	0/2	0	1	0
9 DeAndre Jordan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
55 Kevon Looney	5	0	4	1	3	1	0	0	0	0/0	0/1	0/0	0	2	0
11 Bryce McGowens	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
21 Yves Missi	12	7	8	6	2	2	0	0	0	3/4	2/5	0/0	0	4	0
14 Micah Peavy	17	9	3	1	2	1	0	0	0	3/3	3/5	0/3	0	2	0
23 Trey Alexander	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
4 Hunter Dickinson	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0

Denver Nuggets

Stats

22 Zeke Nnaji
8 Peyton Watson
15 Nikola Jokić
23 Cameron Johnson
27 Jamal Murray
11 Bruce Brown
10 Tim Hardaway Jr.
21 Spencer Jones
24 Jalen Pickett
5 Hunter Tyson
17 Jonas Valančiūnas
7 Tamar Bates
14 DaRon Holmes II
1 Curtis Jones

Stats

	Min	Pts	TR	OR	DR	Ast	Los	Rec	Blk	S1	S2	S3	RF	CF	Val
22 Zeke Nnaji	26	2	4	0	4	0	0	2	1	2/2	0/1	0/2	0	2	0
8 Peyton Watson	34	32	12	3	9	3	4	1	0	1/1	8/10	5/9	0	4	0
15 Nikola Jokić	34	28	11	4	7	12	9	0	0	6/7	8/14	2/4	0	6	0
23 Cameron Johnson	32	14	3	0	3	5	2	1	0	1/2	5/5	1/3	0	2	0
27 Jamal Murray	35	16	0	0	0	8	3	0	0	4/5	3/7	2/7	0	4	0
11 Bruce Brown	27	12	3	1	2	4	2	3	0	2/4	5/6	0/1	0	3	0
10 Tim Hardaway Jr.	23	7	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	0/0	2/4	1/5	0	0	0
21 Spencer Jones	10	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	2	0
24 Jalen Pickett	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
5 Hunter Tyson	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
17 Jonas Valančiūnas	16	14	7	1	6	0	0	0	0	6/6	4/5	0/0	0	3	0
7 Tamar Bates	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
14 DaRon Holmes II	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
1 Curtis Jones	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0