Green helps Nuggets go into break with 118-109 win over Mavs
DENVER (AP) Reserve Jeff Green scored a season-high 24 points, Nikola Jokic notched his 21st triple-double of the season and the Denver Nuggets headed into the All-Star break with a 118-109 victory over the short-handed Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night.
Nikola Jokic finished with 14 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for the Western Conference-leading Nuggets, who moved to an NBA-best 27-4 at home this season. Michael Porter Jr. hit five 3-pointers and finished with 22 points.
''For us to continue to find ways to win and have different guys step up every night, I think it speaks to our chemistry, our depth,'' Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. ''We've got a really good team in there.''
Luka Doncic had 37 points in leading a banged-up Dallas team that was missing guard Kyrie Irving due to lower-back tightness. Doncic and Irving have played alongside each other in two games since Irving was acquired as part of a deal with Brooklyn on Feb. 6.
The Nuggets led by 21 in the fourth quarter, only to see the Mavericks cut it to 105-95 with 5:50 remaining on Christian Wood's layup. Soon after, Porter blocked a shot on one end, raced back and hit a 3-pointer on the other to gain some breathing room.
Where it really got away from the Mavs, coach Jason Kidd conceded, was in the second, when the Nuggets broke open a one-point game with a 35-19 quarter.
''You're sitting in a good place against the best team in the West and so we have to look at doing a better job,'' Kidd said.
The two teams split their four-game season series.
View Denver as a favorite?
''When you have a guy like Jokic on your team, you're the favorite,'' Doncic said.
Jokic joined some exclusive company by going over 500 assists and 500 rebounds before the All-Star break. The other NBA players to accomplish the feat were Russell Westbrook (three times, '16-17, '17-18, '18-19) and Oscar Robertson ('61-62).
Jokic, the two-time reigning MVP, remains on pace to average a triple-double this season.
''He makes it look like a walk in the park,'' recently acquired backup center Thomas Bryant said of Jokic's ease with triple-doubles. ''It's not easy at all.''
Doncic's big night was his 65th career game with 35 or more points. Only LeBron James had more (87) before his 24th birthday. Doncic turns 24 on Feb. 28.
TIP-INS
Mavericks: F Justin Holiday was signed Wednesday. He played in 28 games for Atlanta this season and averaged 4.5 points. ... F Davis Bertans (calf), G Tim Hardaway Jr. (hamstring) and F/C Maxi Kleber (hamstring) were inactive.
Nuggets: Denver was without guard Jamal Murray (right knee inflammation) along with forward Aaron Gordon (bruised ribs).
FRIENDLY REMINDER
Malone made sure to remind his team the All-Star break didn't begin until 11 p.m. - well after their game. They listened.
''Times have changed, guys get their private jets running, waiting to go somewhere,'' cracked Malone, who will coach Team LeBron at the All-Star Game.
COLORADO KID
Backup guard Reggie Jackson jumped at the chance to sign with the Nuggets and play close to home. Jackson, who grew up down the road in Colorado Springs, agreed to a deal with Denver on Tuesday. He wasn't in uniform against Dallas.
The 32-year-old Jackson's favorite player as a kid was Chauncey Billups, the Denver native who went to the University of Colorado before embarking on a long NBA career.
Jackson will wear No. 7 with Denver - a number Billups wore in 2009 while with the Nuggets.
UP NEXT
Mavericks: After the All-Star break, start a six-game homestand against San Antonio on Feb. 23.
Nuggets: At Cleveland on Feb. 23.
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| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00 |  | Dwight Powell vs. Nikola Jokic (Bruce Brown gains possession) | ||
| 11:40 | | +2 | Vlatko Cancar makes two point turnaround jump shot (Michael Porter Jr. assists) | 0-2 |
| 11:21 |  | +2 | Luka Doncic makes two point driving floating bank jump shot (Dwight Powell assists) | 2-2 |
| 11:03 | | +3 | Michael Porter Jr. makes three point jump shot (Bruce Brown assists) | 2-5 |
| 10:51 | | Luka Doncic misses three point stepback jump shot | ||
| 10:48 | | Nikola Jokic defensive rebound | ||
| 10:40 | | Nikola Jokic misses two point floating jump shot | ||
| 10:38 | | Luka Doncic defensive rebound | ||
| 10:35 | | Bruce Brown kicked ball violation | ||
| 10:26 | | Michael Porter Jr. personal foul (Dwight Powell draws the foul) | ||
| 10:16 | | +3 | Reggie Bullock makes three point jump shot (Luka Doncic assists) | 5-5 |
| 10:05 | | Vlatko Cancar misses two point cutting layup | ||
| 10:04 | | Josh Green defensive rebound | ||
| 9:48 | | Josh Green misses three point jump shot | ||
| 9:45 | | Dwight Powell offensive rebound | ||
| 9:38 | | Reggie Bullock turnover (bad pass) (Bruce Brown steals) | ||
| 9:34 | | Michael Porter Jr. misses three point jump shot | ||
| 9:30 | | Dwight Powell defensive rebound | ||
| 9:19 | | +2 | Dwight Powell makes two point alley-oop dunk (Luka Doncic assists) | 7-5 |
| 9:05 | | +3 | Kentavious Caldwell-Pope makes three point pullup jump shot (Nikola Jokic assists) | 7-8 |
| 8:43 | | Luka Doncic misses two point fadeaway jump shot | ||
| 8:41 | | Nikola Jokic defensive rebound | ||
| 8:35 | | Nikola Jokic turnover (out of bounds bad pass) | ||
| 8:13 | | Josh Green turnover (out of bounds bad pass) | ||
| 8:05 | | +2 | Vlatko Cancar makes two point cutting layup (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope assists) | 7-10 |
| 8:05 | | Mavericks 60 second timeout | ||
| 7:48 | | Josh Green misses two point driving floating jump shot | ||
| 7:47 | | Bruce Brown defensive rebound | ||
| 7:36 | | +2 | Michael Porter Jr. makes two point reverse layup (Vlatko Cancar assists) | 7-12 |
| 7:25 | | +2 | Luka Doncic makes two point driving layup | 9-12 |
| 7:25 | | Bruce Brown shooting foul (Luka Doncic draws the foul) | ||
| 7:25 | | +1 | Luka Doncic makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 10-12 |
| 7:10 | | Dwight Powell personal foul (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope draws the foul) | ||
| 6:58 | | Vlatko Cancar misses two point cutting finger roll layup | ||
| 6:56 | | Dwight Powell defensive rebound | ||
| 6:53 | | Frank Ntilikina turnover (traveling) | ||
| 6:37 | | +2 | Michael Porter Jr. makes two point driving layup (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope assists) | 10-14 |
| 6:16 | | Vlatko Cancar shooting foul (Luka Doncic draws the foul) | ||
| 6:16 | | +1 | Luka Doncic makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 11-14 |
| 6:16 | | +1 | Luka Doncic makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 12-14 |
| 5:59 | | Nikola Jokic turnover (bad pass) (Frank Ntilikina steals) | ||
| 5:47 | | JaVale McGee turnover (out of bounds step) | ||
| 5:34 | | Vlatko Cancar misses three point jump shot | ||
| 5:33 | | Christian Braun offensive rebound | ||
| 5:31 | | +3 | Michael Porter Jr. makes three point jump shot (Christian Braun assists) | 12-17 |
| 5:12 | | Reggie Bullock misses three point jump shot | ||
| 5:10 | | Nikola Jokic defensive rebound | ||
| 4:53 | | Nikola Jokic turnover (out of bounds bad pass) | ||
| 4:42 | | Reggie Bullock misses three point jump shot | ||
| 4:39 | | Michael Porter Jr. defensive rebound | ||
| 4:34 | | Theo Pinson shooting foul (Vlatko Cancar draws the foul) | ||
| 4:34 | | +1 | Vlatko Cancar makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 12-18 |
| 4:34 | | +1 | Vlatko Cancar makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 12-19 |
| 4:23 | | +2 | JaVale McGee makes two point cutting dunk (Luka Doncic assists) | 14-19 |
| 4:16 | | JaVale McGee shooting foul (Nikola Jokic draws the foul) | ||
| 4:16 | | Nikola Jokic misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | ||
| 4:16 | | Nuggets offensive rebound | ||
| 4:16 | | +1 | Nikola Jokic makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 14-20 |
| 4:05 | | +2 | Luka Doncic makes two point driving layup | 16-20 |
| 4:05 | | Bruce Brown shooting foul (Luka Doncic draws the foul) | ||
| 4:05 | | +1 | Luka Doncic makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 17-20 |
| 3:41 | | Christian Braun misses three point fadeaway jump shot | ||
| 3:39 | | JaVale McGee defensive rebound | ||
| 3:30 | | Luka Doncic misses two point stepback jump shot | ||
| 3:27 | | Nikola Jokic defensive rebound | ||
| 3:22 | | +3 | Christian Braun makes three point jump shot (Nikola Jokic assists) | 17-23 |
| 3:04 | | Christian Braun personal foul (JaVale McGee draws the foul) | ||
| 3:04 | | JaVale McGee misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | ||
| 3:04 | | Mavericks offensive rebound | ||
| 3:04 | | +1 | JaVale McGee makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 18-23 |
| 2:51 | | JaVale McGee blocks Nikola Jokic's two point driving layup | ||
| 2:48 | | Jaden Hardy defensive rebound | ||
| 2:47 | | Jeff Green blocks Jaden Hardy's two point running layup | ||
| 2:45 | | Kentavious Caldwell-Pope defensive rebound | ||
| 2:36 | | Jeff Green misses three point jump shot | ||
| 2:33 | | JaVale McGee defensive rebound | ||
| 2:22 | | +2 | Luka Doncic makes two point turnaround fadeaway jump shot | 20-23 |
| 2:12 | | Nuggets 60 second timeout | ||
| 1:59 | | +2 | Jeff Green makes two point turnaround fadeaway jump shot (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope assists) | 20-25 |
| 1:43 | | +2 | Luka Doncic makes two point driving dunk | 22-25 |
| 1:33 | | Thomas Bryant misses two point fadeaway jump shot | ||
| 1:31 | | Luka Doncic defensive rebound | ||
| 1:20 | | Christian Wood misses three point jump shot | ||
| 1:17 | | Kentavious Caldwell-Pope defensive rebound | ||
| 1:01 | | Jeff Green turnover (lost ball) (Jaden Hardy steals) | ||
| 0:57 | | Kentavious Caldwell-Pope blocks Theo Pinson's two point running layup | ||
| 0:57 | | Mavericks offensive rebound | ||
| 0:49 | | Nuggets technical foul (Defensive three second) | ||
| 0:49 | | +1 | Luka Doncic makes technical free throw 1 of 1 | 23-25 |
| 0:35 | | Christian Wood turnover (3-second violation) | ||
| 0:26 | | Christian Braun turnover (bad pass) (Luka Doncic steals) | ||
| 0:22 | | Jeff Green shooting foul (Luka Doncic draws the foul) | ||
| 0:22 | | +1 | Luka Doncic makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 24-25 |
| 0:22 | | +1 | Luka Doncic makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 25-25 |
| 0:06 | | Ish Smith misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 0:03 | | Thomas Bryant offensive rebound | ||
| 0:03 | | Christian Wood shooting foul (Thomas Bryant draws the foul) | ||
| 0:03 | | +1 | Thomas Bryant makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 25-26 |
| 0:03 | | Thomas Bryant misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | ||
| 0:03 | | Luka Doncic defensive rebound | ||
| 0:00 | | End of period |
| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11:45 | | Christian Wood misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 11:42 | | Kentavious Caldwell-Pope defensive rebound | ||
| 11:31 | | +2 | Ish Smith makes two point pullup jump shot | 25-28 |
| 11:13 | | Theo Pinson misses three point jump shot | ||
| 11:10 | | Ish Smith defensive rebound | ||
| 11:04 | | +2 | Ish Smith makes two point driving finger roll layup | 25-30 |
| 10:49 | | Jaden Hardy misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 10:48 | | Thomas Bryant defensive rebound | ||
| 10:32 | | +2 | Jeff Green makes two point turnaround fadeaway jump shot | 25-32 |
| 10:08 | | Jaden Hardy misses two point driving layup | ||
| 10:06 | | Thomas Bryant defensive rebound | ||
| 10:01 | | Thomas Bryant misses three point pullup jump shot | ||
| 9:58 | | Christian Wood defensive rebound | ||
| 9:48 | | +2 | Christian Wood makes two point jump shot | 27-32 |
| 9:27 | | +2 | Kentavious Caldwell-Pope makes two point pullup jump shot (Ish Smith assists) | 27-34 |
| 9:15 | | Christian Wood misses three point stepback jump shot | ||
| 9:13 | | Ish Smith defensive rebound | ||
| 9:06 | | +3 | Jeff Green makes three point jump shot (Ish Smith assists) | 27-37 |
| 9:05 | | Mavericks 60 second timeout | ||
| 8:52 | | Josh Green turnover (traveling) | ||
| 8:35 | | Jeff Green misses two point jump shot | ||
| 8:30 | | Christian Wood defensive rebound | ||
| 8:25 | | Jaden Hardy misses two point running pullup jump shot | ||
| 8:25 | | Nuggets defensive rebound | ||
| 8:11 | | Jeff Green misses three point jump shot | ||
| 8:07 | | Dwight Powell defensive rebound | ||
| 8:04 | | Ish Smith personal foul (Frank Ntilikina draws the foul) | ||
| 7:52 | | Christian Wood misses two point driving reverse layup | ||
| 7:49 | | Thomas Bryant defensive rebound | ||
| 7:44 | | +2 | Ish Smith makes two point pullup jump shot | 27-39 |
| 7:26 | | +2 | Frank Ntilikina makes two point turnaround jump shot | 29-39 |
| 7:12 | | +2 | Thomas Bryant makes two point alley-oop dunk (Christian Braun assists) | 29-41 |
| 6:54 | | +2 | Dwight Powell makes two point turnaround hook shot (Christian Wood assists) | 31-41 |
| 6:48 | | Dwight Powell shooting foul (Christian Braun draws the foul) | ||
| 6:48 | | Mavericks 60 second timeout | ||
| 6:48 | | Christian Braun misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | ||
| 6:48 | | Nuggets offensive rebound | ||
| 6:48 | | +1 | Christian Braun makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 31-42 |
| 6:30 | | Christian Wood misses two point turnaround jump shot | ||
| 6:27 | | Nikola Jokic defensive rebound | ||
| 6:15 | | +2 | Nikola Jokic makes two point cutting layup (Christian Braun assists) | 31-44 |
| 5:59 | | Christian Braun shooting foul (Luka Doncic draws the foul) | ||
| 5:59 | | +1 | Luka Doncic makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 32-44 |
| 5:59 | | +1 | Luka Doncic makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 33-44 |
| 5:41 | | Bruce Brown misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 5:38 | | Dwight Powell defensive rebound | ||
| 5:23 | | Nuggets technical foul (Defensive three second) | ||
| 5:23 | | Luka Doncic misses technical free throw 1 of 1 | ||
| 5:23 | | Mavericks offensive rebound | ||
| 5:21 | | Reggie Bullock misses three point jump shot | ||
| 5:18 | | Dwight Powell offensive rebound | ||
| 5:04 | | +2 | Frank Ntilikina makes two point jump shot (Reggie Bullock assists) | 35-44 |
| 4:49 | | +2 | Michael Porter Jr. makes two point driving reverse layup (Bruce Brown assists) | 35-46 |
| 4:38 | | Luka Doncic misses two point pullup bank jump shot | ||
| 4:36 | | Nikola Jokic defensive rebound | ||
| 4:31 | | Nikola Jokic offensive foul (Christian Wood draws the foul) | ||
| 4:31 | | Nikola Jokic turnover (offensive foul) | ||
| 4:21 | | Frank Ntilikina misses three point jump shot | ||
| 4:18 | | Nikola Jokic defensive rebound | ||
| 4:11 | | Kentavious Caldwell-Pope turnover (bad pass) (Luka Doncic steals) | ||
| 4:05 | | Luka Doncic misses three point stepback jump shot | ||
| 4:02 | | Nuggets defensive rebound | ||
| 3:47 | | +2 | Nikola Jokic makes two point driving layup | 35-48 |
| 3:29 | | +2 | Luka Doncic makes two point turnaround fadeaway bank jump shot | 37-48 |
| 3:14 | | +2 | Nikola Jokic makes two point driving layup (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope assists) | 37-50 |
| 2:57 | | Frank Ntilikina misses three point jump shot | ||
| 2:56 | | Kentavious Caldwell-Pope defensive rebound | ||
| 2:34 | | Bruce Brown misses two point driving floating jump shot | ||
| 2:30 | | Vlatko Cancar offensive rebound | ||
| 2:30 | | +2 | Vlatko Cancar makes two point tip layup | 37-52 |
| 2:13 | | Luka Doncic turnover (bad pass) (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope steals) | ||
| 2:13 | | Theo Pinson personal foul (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope draws the foul) | ||
| 2:06 | | +2 | Nikola Jokic makes two point floating jump shot (Bruce Brown assists) | 37-54 |
| 1:47 | | +3 | Josh Green makes three point jump shot (Reggie Bullock assists) | 40-54 |
| 1:32 | | +3 | Michael Porter Jr. makes three point jump shot (Nikola Jokic assists) | 40-57 |
| 1:12 | | +2 | JaVale McGee makes two point layup (Theo Pinson assists) | 42-57 |
| 0:59 | | Kentavious Caldwell-Pope misses three point jump shot | ||
| 0:55 | | Nikola Jokic offensive rebound | ||
| 0:53 | | Bruce Brown misses three point jump shot | ||
| 0:52 | | Mavericks defensive rebound | ||
| 0:39 | | JaVale McGee misses two point finger roll layup | ||
| 0:36 | | Vlatko Cancar defensive rebound | ||
| 0:35 | | +2 | Bruce Brown makes two point running dunk (Vlatko Cancar assists) | 42-59 |
| 0:12 |