The NBA champion Denver Nuggets and Nikola Jokic started their title defense with a 119-107 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night. The Nuggets eliminated the Lakers from playoff contention in last year’s Western Conference Finals. Jokic dominated the game and led Denver to a victory with 29 points, 11 assists, and 13 rebounds.

With his second career triple-double in a season-opening, Jokic tied Magic Johnson, Jason Kidd, and Russell Westbrook for second all-time in NBA history, according to Sportsnet Stats. Oscar Robertson has the NBA record with four such games.

With the victory, Jokic improved his standing on the all-time list for triple-doubles.

Nikola Jokic looked like the same player on Tuesday that he did at the end of the 2023 playoffs. During that playoff run, Jokic had one of the greatest individual performances in NBA history, helping lead Denver to its first NBA title and earning him the title of Finals MVP. The Nuggets cruised through the playoffs without losing a single game and swept the Lakers in four games to go to the NBA Finals.

On Tuesday night, any fears of a “championship hangover” were swiftly put to rest. After Jokic and the Nuggets received their title rings and raised their banner before the game, they jumped out to an early double-digit lead.

Although the Lakers made things interesting at the start of the fourth quarter, Jokic’s consistent play down the stretch propelled the Nuggets to victory.