Nikola Jokic became the third player in NBA history to record at least one triple-double against every opponent in the league, going 10-for-10 from the floor and finishing with 21 points, 19 rebounds and 15 assists in the Denver Nuggets’ 130-110 win over the Washington Wizards on Thursday night.
Michael Porter had 22 points and 11 rebounds for the defending champion Nuggets, who returned from the All-Star break and snapped a three-game skid.
Jokic’s triple-double was his 16th this season, second in the league to Domantas Sabonis’ 18. He nearly got there in the first half, with 10 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists. LeBron James and Russell Westbrook are the other players with a triple-double against every opponent.
Jamal Murray, who missed Denver´s previous game with tibia inflammation, had 18 points, eight assists and three steals.
Kyle Kuzma had 31 points and 13 rebounds for the Wizards, who matched their worst skid of the season with their ninth straight loss. Deni Avdija, who averaged 28.3 points and shot 61.5% in Washington´s previous four games, was held to five points on 2-of-11 shooting.
Washington shot 38.8% from the field and fell to 1-34 against opponents with winning records. Jordan Poole, moved out of the starting lineup by interim coach Brian Keefe, scored 18 points on 4-of-17 shooting
Aaron Gordon scored 17 points for Denver while Christian Braun and Peyton Watson were productive off the bench. Braun had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Watson finished with 11 points and four blocks.
Denver toyed with Washington defensively, regularly beating the Wizards with backdoor cuts that led to high-percentage and often uncontested scoring opportunities at the rim. Despite making just four of their 18 3-pointers in the first half, the Nuggets went 28 of 37 (75.7%) from inside the arc to help build a 72-49 halftime lead.
Denver finished with a season-high 88 points in the paint.
The Nuggets led by 16 in the first quarter and extended that advantage to 26 when Gordon made two free throws with 2:04 remaining in the second.
The only other time the Nuggets lost three straight games this season, they responded by winning nine of their next 10.
In just 650 career games, Jokic is already fourth in NBA history with 121 regular-season triple-doubles, in addition to 16 in the playoffs. All-time, he has already surpassed James (110) and trails only Westbrook (198), Oscar Robertson (181), and Magic Johnson (138).
He doesn’t seem to have too many bad matchups, given that there’s no longer a single team he hasn’t stuffed the stat sheet against. The New Orleans Pelicans have been victimized by his versatility the most throughout his career, as Jokic has racked up 10 triple-doubles against them in just 29 games.
This was the third game of Jokic’s career, and the second this season, in which he shot 100% from the field on at least 10 attempts. It was also his fourth career “perfect triple-double” on 100% shooting.
“Like any great passer, his head is always up,” Malone said.
“He’s surveying the floor. He’s seeing who is open, where the defense is, and he just has a tremendous IQ. He sees a lot of things before they happen.”