- He now ranks third behind NBA legend Magic Johnson with 30 triple-doubles
- Nuggets rookie Julian Strawther also scored a career-high 21 points off the bench
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Nikola Jokic recorded his 108th career triple-double, breaking ties with LeBron James and Jason Kidd and moving into fourth place on the all-time list.
He now trails NBA legend Magic Johnson with 30 triple-doubles for third place.
Jokic scored his 108th triple-double with 35 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists as the Denver Nuggets defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 134-116 on Monday night.
Denver was even able to fight back and recover from a 20-point deficit in the first half to secure their seventh win of the season.
Nuggets rookie Julian Strawther scored a career-high 21 points to help overcome the absence of Jamal Murray, who will miss several games with a right hamstring injury.
LeBron James was passed by Nikola Jokic for the fourth most triple-doubles in NBA history
Jokic scored his 108th career triple-double in Denver’s win over New Orleans to move into fourth place in the all-time rankings
In addition to LeBron, he also broke ties with Jason Kidd, who now became a coach in the NBA
“His injury is not a one- or two-game injury,” coach Michael Malone said. ‘That’s what I do know. This is something that will take longer than we would like.”
Michael Porter Jr. had 22 points and nine rebounds, while Aaron Gordon finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Nuggets.
New Orleans rookie Jordan Hawkins, starting for CJ McCollum, posted a career-best 31 points on 7-for-14 shooting from 3-point range. Zion Williamson added 20 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, and Brandon Ingram had 22 points for the Pelicans.
McCollum was ruled out on Sunday after an MRI showed he had suffered a collapsed lung and is likely to miss several games.
“We don’t mind it that much, but we have to do more testing and see where we want to go,” New Orleans coach Willie Green said.
The Pelicans, thanks to shooting 10 of 17 from three-point range, led 61-41 late in the second period but were outscored 46-19 in the second and third quarters. Denver led 90-82 after Jokic gave Collin Gillespie a 3-pointer to give the two-time MVP the triple-double.
It was a six-point lead after Hawkins made a 3-pointer midway through the fourth period, but Strawther scored five points and Gordon dunked to give the Nuggets a 113-100 lead. New Orleans cut it to seven, but Jokic sealed the victory when he gave Porter an alley-oop to make it 121-108.
