INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Nikola Jokic scored 55 points, the most in the NBA this season, along with 12 rebounds and Denver Nuggets defeat the short-armed one Los Angeles Clippers 130-116 on Wednesday night, their sixth win in a row.
Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 55 points in double overtime against Indiana on Oct. 23.
Jokic scored 25 of Denver's 39 points in the first quarter. He had eight points in the second and then came back with 19 in the third. He missed most of the fourth before scoring three points and finishing his night going 18 of 23 from the field. He failed to add to his league-leading six triple-doubles with six assists. The Serbian big man made 5 of 6 three-pointers and made 14 of 16 free throws.
James Harden scored 23 points (making all 10 of his free throws) and had eight rebounds and five assists to lead the surging Clippers, who were dealt a major blow earlier in the day when they learned Bradley Beal would miss the rest of the season with a broken hip. They are currently without Kawhi Leonard, who has a sprained ankle and foot.
Jordan Miller scored a career-high 22 points off the bench and Ivica Zubac scored 18 points as Los Angeles lost its sixth straight to fall to 3-8.
The Clippers stayed close in the first half despite Jokic's game-tying goal. After being down 10 points in the first quarter, they led by 10 points and led 68-63 at halftime.
Jokic took over in the third, twice scoring his personal streaks of six straight points. The Nuggets led 106–90 entering the fourth.
Nuggets: At Minnesota on Saturday night.
Clippers: At Dallas in the NBA Cup game Friday night to open a seven-game road trip.
