National Basketball Association
Denver 124, Cleveland 102
When: 10:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 19, 2019
Where: Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado
Officials: #50 Gediminas Petraitis, #67 Brandon Adair, #71 Rodney Mott
Attendance: 19250

Nikola Jokic had 19 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds, Jamal Murray scored 26 points, and the host Denver Nuggets beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 124-102 on Saturday night.

Jokic recorded his sixth triple-double of the season and fourth in January in just 28 minutes before sitting out the fourth quarter.

Trey Lyles had 16 points, Monte Morris 15 and Paul Millsap scored 14 points for the Nuggets, who closed out their four-game homestand at 3-1, with routs of the two bottom teams in the Eastern Conference, Chicago and Cleveland, after falling to Golden State on Tuesday.

Ante Zizic had 23 points, Rodney Hood had 18 and Cedi Osman 17 for the Cavaliers, who have lost three in a row and 15 of their past 16.

The Cavaliers, who also got 13 points from Jordan Clarkson and 10 from Collin Sexton, host the Chicago Bulls on Monday afternoon.

Cleveland's one win in the last month came against the Lakers in Los Angeles midway through their six-game road trip.

The Cavaliers led midway through the first quarter but Jokic hit consecutive 3-pointers to tie the game at 20 with 5:01 left. It sparked a 23-7 run to end the period that gave Denver a 37-25 lead heading into the second.

Denver opened a 20-point lead on Morris' 3-pointer midway through the second, and Murray and Malik Beasley also hit from long range to make it 60-36 with 4:17 left before halftime.

Jokic hit a layup and Murray two free throws, and Denver had a 70-46 lead at intermission.

Murray hit an 11-foot jumper that gave Jokic his 10th assist of the night, and he got the triple-double when he grabbed Osman's missed 3-pointer with 3:29 left in the third.

Jokic and most of Denver's regulars took the fourth quarter off. Guard Gary Harris and forward Will Barton, who are coming off lengthy injury stints, were on the court during mop-up time to help work them back into playing shape.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Cleveland   Denver
Ante Zizic 23 Scoring Jamal Murray 26
Collin Sexton 7 Assists Nikola Jokic 12
Ante Zizic 6 Rebounds Nikola Jokic 11
Alec Burks 6 Free Throws Made Jamal Murray 6
Rodney Hood 2 Steals Paul Millsap 2
Cedi Osman 1 Blocks Gary Harris 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Cleveland 102 48.6 10-29 22-26 20 28 1 5 14
Denver 124 56.2 15-37 9-11 33 43 2 7 12
Upcoming Games
  • Denver will play their next game on the road against Utah. The Nuggets have a W/L % of .742 after a win and .571 after a loss.
  • Cleveland will play their next game at home against Chicago. The Cavaliers have a W/L % of .111 after a win and .211 after a loss.