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Jokic shines as Nuggets polish off Mavericks
LOS ANGELES, Jan 9, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Nikola Jokic made a clutch go-ahead layup with eight seconds left and finished with 33 points as the Denver Nuggets outduelled Luka Doncic’s Dallas Mavericks 107-106 on Wednesday.
Jokic also had seven assists while Jerami Grant scored 15 points and Jamal Murray chipped in 14 in the matchup of two of the top young teams in the NBA’s Western Conference.
Doncic flirted with a triple double, finishing with 27 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds. Dwight Powell scored 16, Tim Hardaway added 15, Seth Curry 14 and Maxi Kleber had 13 for the Mavericks.
Dallas played its fifth straight game without injured starter Kristaps Porzingis, who has a knee injury. The Nuggets were without two starters, guard Will Barton (personal reasons) and Paul Millsap (knee).
Dorian Finney-Smith nailed a three pointer and Hardaway hit a basket to give Dallas a 106-101 lead late in the fourth.
Jokic then made a shot in the lane and Grant drained two free throws to make it 106-105 with 87 seconds remaining.
Denver got the ball back with 23 seconds left. Jokic drove for a layup with eight seconds left.
The Mavericks called a timeout, but the Nuggets trapped Doncic to force him to pass, and the defence prevented Dallas from getting a shot off before the final buzzer.
Also, Serge Ibaka sank a pair of free throws with five seconds left in overtime to lift the shorthanded Toronto Raptors a 112-110 victory against the Charlotte Hornets.
Ibaka and Terence Davis each tallied 23 points for the Raptors, who avoided losses on consecutive nights.
OG Anunoby finished with 19 points, Kyle Lowry had 15 points, and Patrick McCaw scored 13 in the win.
In regulation, Lowry’s layup with 17 seconds left pushed the Raptors ahead 100-99, which was countered by a Terry Rozier free throw to force the extra session.
At the end of overtime, Charlotte’s Rozier missed a potential winning three-point shot.
In Indianapolis, Jimmy Butler returned from a one game absence due to a back problem to finish with 14 points, seven assists and six rebounds in the Miami Heat’s 122-108 win over the host Indiana Pacers.
BSS/AFP/AU/10:40 hrs