On Monday, the Denver Nuggets fought to a 112-108 road win against the Miami Heat, just missing out on Nikola Jokic's 21st triple-double of the season.
With a final line of 27 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 assists, two-time NBA MVP Jokic helped Denver increase their advantage over the rest of the Western Conference to five games.
After a rocky opening quarter in which they fell down by nine points, Denver, who now stands at 40-18, came roaring back to defeat Miami 38-26 and take a narrow 65-62 advantage into halftime.
Even though Miami closed the gap to three points in the last minute, Denver held on to win. The Nuggets maintained their lead for the most of the second half.
Jokic had the game's highest point total, but Denver's well-rounded attack allowed for a wide distribution of points, with seven players scoring in double digits and 34 assists distributed among them.
Bruce Brown got 16 points, while Michael Porter Jr. scored 17.
“I believe we like playing for one another, “Jokic later said. “We look for available men, and we're simply going to strive for the greatest chance we can get.
“The group embraces it, which is why I believe we have so many assists, “added the Serbian celebrity.
Max Strus and Bam Adebayo each scored 23 points, while Jimmy Butler led Miami with 24 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists.
Mitchell considers Philly exam
Donovan Mitchell scored 41 points on Monday, helping the Cleveland Cavaliers defeat the San Antonio Spurs 117-109 to earn their eighth consecutive victory.
The Cavaliers tightened their hold on fourth place in the Eastern Conference thanks to Mitchell's sixth game with 40 or more points this year.
Cleveland is currently leading fifth-placed Brooklyn, who was destroyed 124-106 by the New York Knicks earlier on Monday, with a record of 38-22 overall.
While Keldon Johnson led San Antonio in scoring with 25 points, Cleveland's two leading scorers were Jarrett Allen (17 points) and Darius Garland (16 points).
“The most important thing is to keep fighting, “Mitchell said thereafter. Regardless of how San Antonio has been playing, they made it difficult for us, so we didn't play our best basketball.
You must give them credit for their performance, but we ultimately found a way to execute, and that is really significant.”
Cleveland will now focus on their next road matchup against Eastern Conference rivals Philadelphia on Wednesday, which will be their last game before this weekend's All-Star break.
Mitchell thinks the Philadelphia 76ers will be more motivated following Sunday's Super Bowl loss to Kansas City by the Philadelphia Eagles.
“That will be a playoff game in an unfriendly setting, “added Mitchell.
They just suffered a Super Bowl loss, so they will probably be rather enraged over there.
“We need to play the basketball we've been playing and go out there and compete.”
The Sixers defeated the Houston Rockets by a score of 123-104 earlier on Monday to prepare for their matchup with the Cavaliers.
Tyrese Maxey excelled with 26 points off the bench after connecting on 4-of-8 from outside the arc, while James Harden paced the Sixers in scoring against his old team with 28 points and 10 assists.
Joel Embiid, the stalwart of the Sixers, contributed 23 points, while Jalen Green led the Rockets with 29 points.
Going into Wednesday's game, the Sixers are just one game ahead of the strong Cavaliers.
