Nikola Jokic had 19 points, 18 assists and 12 rebounds for the 42nd triple-double of his career as the Denver Nuggets beat the short-handed Houston Rockets 124-111 on Monday, their first win of the season.
Jamal Murray added 21 points before leaving with 4 minutes, 5 seconds remaining in the third quarter after a collision in traffic sent him sprawling to the floor.
He held his hand to his head for a couple of minutes, but walked under his own power to the locker room for further examination. He was back on the bench midway through the fourth, although he did not re-enter the game.
Photo: AP
James Harden had 34 points for Houston. Christian Wood added 23.
The Rockets have started the season without several key components, including John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Eric Gordon and Mason Jones, who remain away from the team due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
Houston dressed nine players against the Nuggets following a two-point overtime loss against the Portland Trail Blazers in the Rockets’ season opener on Saturday.
“This is a growing, learning experience for all of us and we have to get better, on the defensive end especially,” Rockets coach Stephen Silas said. “When you have nine guys, and you are kind of doing things on the fly because you don’t have practice time, it can get ugly against a good team and that’s what happened tonight.”
In New York, the Memphis Grizzlies’ first win of the season was a costly one, as Rookie of the Year Ja Morant limped out with a sprained ankle in the first half of their 116-111 overtime triumph over the shorthanded Brooklyn Nets at the Barclays Center.
Morant rose to block a shot by Brooklyn’s French forward Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot with less than three minutes remaining in the first half, rolling his ankle as he came down and hopping to the baseline where he fell to the court.
He was taken to the locker room in a wheelchair, with the Grizzlies writing on Twitter that the initial diagnosis was a sprained left ankle.
In Los Angeles, the Lakers, heavy favorites to win a second straight title, fell to their second defeat in four games in the new season, falling 115-107 to the Portland Trail Blazers at the Staples Center.
In Salt Lake City, Utah’s Donovan Mitchell scored the Jazz’s final 12 points — including the game-winner with seven seconds remaining — and Rudy Gobert shut down Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at the rim as time expired to give the Jazz a 110-109 victory over the Thunder at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
In Atlanta, the Hawks notched their third straight win of the season with a 128-120 victory over the Detroit Pistons at the State Farm Arena.
Additional reporting by AFP
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