Wizards overcome career-high 56 by Jokic, snap 16-game skid with 122-113 win over the Nuggets
WASHINGTON (AP) Jordan Poole scored 39 points, and the Washington Wizards overcame a career-high 56 by Nikola Jokic to beat the Denver Nuggets 122-113 on Saturday night and snap their 16-game losing streak.
Jamal Murray (hamstring), Aaron Gordon (calf) and Dario Saric (ankle) were all out for Denver, which left Jokic as something of a one-man show for the Nuggets. He took 38 shots from the field - also a career high - and had 16 rebounds and eight assists.
But Washington always had an answer.
The Wizards (3-18) won for the first time since Oct. 30. Their 16-game skid tied a franchise record.
Poole made a career-high nine 3-pointers, and Washington as a team made 16. Denver went 5 of 24, which is why the Nuggets couldn't fully take advantage of Jokic's dominance.
The Wizards were up 69-57 at halftime, and although Jokic scored 23 points in the third quarter, Washington was still up by six when he went to the bench at the start of the fourth. Denver was down 108-95 when he returned with 7:35 remaining.
Nuggets: It was a huge game for Jokic, but the fact that it wasn't a triple-double - he didn't quite have enough assists - was a sign that Denver didn't have enough balance. Julian Strawther did have a decent night off the bench with 18 points.
Wizards: Although Denver wasn't close to full strength, the Wizards won despite injuries of their own. Kyle Kuzma (rib) and rookie Alex Sarr (back) did not play.
Justin Champagnie made a driving bank shot with 1:12 left to put the Wizards up 118-111. Champagnie had a more modest career high of his own, scoring 23 points.
Jokic's previous career high was 50 points, at Sacramento on Feb. 6, 2021.
Both teams play Sunday. Denver is at Atlanta, and Washington hosts Memphis.
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| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00 |  | Â | Nikola Jokic vs. Jonas Valanciunas (Jordan Poole gains possession) | Â |
| 11:45 | | Â | Jordan Poole misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 11:43 |  | Â | Nikola Jokic defensive rebound | Â |
| 11:26 | | Â | Nikola Jokic turnover (out of bounds bad pass) | Â |
| 11:13 | | Â | Carlton Carrington misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 11:10 | | Â | Nikola Jokic defensive rebound | Â |
| 11:07 | | Â | Nikola Jokic turnover (double dribble) | Â |
| 10:58 | | Â | Michael Porter Jr. blocks Bilal Coulibaly's two point pullup jump shot | Â |
| 10:57 | | Â | Michael Porter Jr. defensive rebound | Â |
| 10:51 | | +2 | Peyton Watson makes two point running layup (Michael Porter Jr. assists) | 2-0 |
| 10:44 | | Â | Jonas Valanciunas misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 10:41 | | Â | Nikola Jokic defensive rebound | Â |
| 10:33 | | Â | Michael Porter Jr. misses two point stepback jump shot | Â |
| 10:31 | | Â | Justin Champagnie defensive rebound | Â |
| 10:19 | | +2 | Jonas Valanciunas makes two point jump shot (Carlton Carrington assists) | 2-2 |
| 10:03 | | +2 | Christian Braun makes two point cutting dunk (Nikola Jokic assists) | 4-2 |
| 9:55 | | Â | Russell Westbrook personal foul (Jonas Valanciunas draws the foul) | Â |
| 9:46 | | +3 | Justin Champagnie makes three point jump shot (Carlton Carrington assists) | 4-5 |
| 9:31 | | Â | Nikola Jokic turnover (bad pass) (Bilal Coulibaly steals) | Â |
| 9:26 | | +2 | Justin Champagnie makes two point running layup (Carlton Carrington assists) | 4-7 |
| 9:26 | | Â | Peyton Watson shooting foul (Justin Champagnie draws the foul) | Â |
| 9:26 | | +1 | Justin Champagnie makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 4-8 |
| 9:16 | | +2 | Russell Westbrook makes two point cutting dunk (Peyton Watson assists) | 6-8 |
| 9:02 | | Â | Russell Westbrook blocks Jordan Poole's two point driving floating bank jump shot | Â |
| 9:00 | | Â | Jonas Valanciunas offensive rebound | Â |
| 8:58 | | Â | Jordan Poole misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 8:56 | | Â | Russell Westbrook defensive rebound | Â |
| 8:48 | | +2 | Nikola Jokic makes two point running layup (Michael Porter Jr. assists) | 8-8 |
| 8:39 | | Â | Justin Champagnie misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 8:35 | | Â | Nuggets defensive rebound | Â |
| 8:25 | | Â | Michael Porter Jr. misses three point stepback jump shot | Â |
| 8:23 | | Â | Carlton Carrington defensive rebound | Â |
| 8:10 | | +3 | Carlton Carrington makes three point jump shot (Jordan Poole assists) | 8-11 |
| 7:55 | | +2 | Michael Porter Jr. makes two point cutting layup (Nikola Jokic assists) | 10-11 |
| 7:41 | | Â | Michael Porter Jr. personal foul (Bilal Coulibaly draws the foul) | Â |
| 7:33 | | +2 | Justin Champagnie makes two point cutting dunk (Jordan Poole assists) | 10-13 |
| 7:19 | | Â | Jonas Valanciunas blocks Nikola Jokic's two point cutting layup | Â |
| 7:18 | | Â | Jordan Poole defensive rebound | Â |
| 7:13 | | +2 | Bilal Coulibaly makes two point running dunk (Jordan Poole assists) | 10-15 |
| 7:13 | | Â | Nuggets 60 second timeout | Â |
| 7:00 | | Â | Russell Westbrook turnover (traveling) | Â |
| 6:44 | | +3 | Jordan Poole makes three point jump shot (Carlton Carrington assists) | 10-18 |
| 6:26 | | Â | Christian Braun misses two point driving layup | Â |
| 6:24 | | Â | Jonas Valanciunas defensive rebound | Â |
| 6:10 | | +2 | Justin Champagnie makes two point reverse layup (Bilal Coulibaly assists) | 10-20 |
| 5:59 | | +2 | Michael Porter Jr. makes two point jump shot (Russell Westbrook assists) | 12-20 |
| 5:44 | | Â | Christian Braun personal foul (Jordan Poole draws the foul) | Â |
| 5:37 | | Â | Jordan Poole misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 5:35 | | Â | Justin Champagnie offensive rebound | Â |
| 5:31 | | Â | Justin Champagnie turnover (out of bounds bad pass) | Â |
| 5:28 | | Â | Jonas Valanciunas personal foul (Nikola Jokic draws the foul) | Â |
| 5:22 | | +2 | Nikola Jokic makes two point driving layup (Michael Porter Jr. assists) | 14-20 |
| 5:22 | | Â | Jonas Valanciunas shooting foul (Nikola Jokic draws the foul) | Â |
| 5:22 | | +1 | Nikola Jokic makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 15-20 |
| 5:06 | | +3 | Carlton Carrington makes three point jump shot (Jordan Poole assists) | 15-23 |
| 4:55 | | +2 | Julian Strawther makes two point driving layup (Russell Westbrook assists) | 17-23 |
| 4:44 | | Â | Jordan Poole turnover (bad pass) (Julian Strawther steals) | Â |
| 4:41 | | +2 | Russell Westbrook makes two point running dunk (Nikola Jokic assists) | 19-23 |
| 4:41 | | Â | Wizards 60 second timeout | Â |
| 4:27 | | +3 | Jared Butler makes three point jump shot (Jonas Valanciunas assists) | 19-26 |
| 4:04 | | Â | Justin Champagnie blocks Michael Porter Jr.'s two point pullup jump shot | Â |
| 4:02 | | Â | Jonas Valanciunas defensive rebound | Â |
| 3:52 | | +2 | Jared Butler makes two point driving layup | 19-28 |
| 3:45 | | Â | Michael Porter Jr. turnover (out of bounds step) | Â |
| 3:26 | | +2 | Jonas Valanciunas makes two point jump shot (Jordan Poole assists) | 19-30 |
| 3:08 | | +2 | Nikola Jokic makes two point jump shot (Jalen Pickett assists) | 21-30 |
| 2:59 | | Â | Jordan Poole turnover (lost ball) (Peyton Watson steals) | Â |
| 2:52 | | Â | Peyton Watson turnover (bad pass) (Bilal Coulibaly steals) | Â |
| 2:29 | | Â | Jared Butler misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 2:27 | | Â | Jalen Pickett defensive rebound | Â |
| 2:17 | | +2 | Nikola Jokic makes two point turnaround bank hook shot (Julian Strawther assists) | 23-30 |
| 2:08 | | Â | Peyton Watson blocks Jordan Poole's three point pullup jump shot | Â |
| 2:07 | | Â | Bilal Coulibaly offensive rebound | Â |
| 2:01 | | Â | Jonas Valanciunas misses two point turnaround fadeaway jump shot | Â |
| 1:58 | | Â | Nikola Jokic defensive rebound | Â |
| 1:54 | | Â | Peyton Watson misses three point running jump shot | Â |
| 1:52 | | Â | Justin Champagnie defensive rebound | Â |
| 1:29 | | +2 | Jordan Poole makes two point cutting layup (Jared Butler assists) | 23-32 |
| 1:23 | | +2 | Christian Braun makes two point cutting layup (Nikola Jokic assists) | 25-32 |
| 1:23 | | Â | Justin Champagnie defensive goaltending violation | Â |
| 1:11 | | +2 | Jonas Valanciunas makes two point driving layup (Bilal Coulibaly assists) | 25-34 |
| 0:55 | | +2 | Nikola Jokic makes two point driving hook shot (Jalen Pickett assists) | 27-34 |
| 0:48 | | Â | Bilal Coulibaly misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 0:44 | | Â | Nikola Jokic defensive rebound | Â |
| 0:36 | | +2 | Peyton Watson makes two point driving layup | 29-34 |
| 0:19 | | +2 | Jonas Valanciunas makes two point jump shot (Jared Butler assists) | 29-36 |
| 0:07 | | Â | Justin Champagnie personal foul (Julian Strawther draws the foul) | Â |
| 0:06 | | Â | Christian Braun turnover (bad pass) (Marvin Bagley III steals) | Â |
| 0:02 | | Â | Christian Braun blocks Bilal Coulibaly's two point running layup | Â |
| 0:02 | | Â | Nuggets defensive rebound | Â |
| 0:00 | | Â | Nikola Jokic misses three point pullup jump shot | Â |
| 0:00 | | Â | Nuggets offensive rebound | Â |
| 0:00 | | Â | End of period | Â |