Cavaliers’ 3-point barrage overwhelms Nuggets despite Nikola Jokic’s monster game

Nikola Jokic moved to No. 3 for career triple-doubles with 27 points, 20 rebounds and 11 assists on Wednesday in Cleveland, but his Denver Nuggets couldn’t withstand the host Cavaliers’ three-point game and lost 126-114. Thursday night. .

Jokic’s 139th career double-double broke a tie with Magic Johnson on the all-time list. It was also his second triple-double of 20-plus points and 20-plus rebounds this season.

Cleveland’s quartet of Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Caris LeVert and Evan Mobley, however, responded by combining to make 17 treys and score 93 points.

Led by Mitchell’s 28 points and 6-of-10 shooting from long range, Cleveland’s perimeter shooting gave the Cavaliers almost a wire-to-wire victory. The advantage ballooned to 18 points multiple times in the second half before Denver fought back to cut the deficit to single digits late in the fourth quarter with a 7-0 run.

LeVert, who scored 21 points off the bench, helped counter Denver’s outburst by nailing the last of his six 3-point attempts. After Michael Porter Jr. scored two of his 24 points on the ensuing possession, Mitchell came back and sank another 3-pointer on one of LeVert’s six assists.

Back-to-back triples ended any hope of a Nuggets rally, and proved the story of the night.

While Cleveland shot 22-of-48 from beyond the arc, with five Cavaliers making multiple 3-pointers, the Nuggets went 6-of-24 from deep.

Mobley shot 3-of-5 from 3-point range and 7-of-11 from the floor overall en route to 20 points. He also pulled down nine rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Garland added 24 points and four assists. He shot 3-of-10 from the outside. Jarrett Allen collected eight points, six assists and 15 rebounds.

Aaron Gordon scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds for Denver. Jamal Murray added 19 points, and both Russell Westbrook and Christian Braun recorded 10 points.

–Field Level Media