Nikola Jokic goes big in first quarter as Denver Nuggets cool off New York Knicks 113-97

Nikola Jokic goes big in first quarter as Denver Nuggets cool off New York Knicks 113-97

Nikola Jokic

Nikola Jokic led the Denver Nuggets with 32 points, out of which he scored 24 in the first quarter itself as the home team outshined New York Knicks 34-12. Austin Rivers scored 11 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter against his former team, Michael Porter Jr. had 17 points and Facu Campazzo added 16. 

Nikola Jokic finished with 12 rebounds to help lead the Denver Nuggets to their 10 victory in 12 games. Denver, which led by as much as 31, moved back into a tie with the Los Angeles Clippers for third place in the Western Conference. 

Nikola Jokic leads Denver Nuggets’ early charge against New York Knicks 

RJ Barrett picked up his third foul with 5:32 left in the first period, the New York Knicks shot 4 of 24 from the field and went 5:46 between made shots. 

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Julius Randle had 14 points and eight rebounds and Derrick Rose, Reggie Bullock and Barrett also each scored 14 points. The Knicks had won 12 of 13 before Wednesday night. 

Denver Nuggets led by 28 midway through the second quarter but New York Knicks went on a 12-3 run to cut it to 59-40 late in the period. The Nuggets took a 64-43 lead into halftime. 

The Knicks got to 78-62 with a trio of 3-pointers from Barrett and had a couple of chances to get within 13 but couldn’t get any closer. 

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