Donovan Mitchell scores 28 as Cavaliers improve to 13-1 at home by beating Jokic and Nuggets 126-114
CLEVELAND (AP) Donovan Mitchell scored 28 points, Darius Garland added 24 and the Cleveland Cavaliers improved to 13-1 at home with a 126-114 victory Thursday night over the Denver Nuggets, who wasted a triple-double by Nikola Jokic.
The Cavs made a season-high 22 3-pointers and extended their streak of making at least 10 3s to a club record 28 games dating to last season.
Cleveland outscored Denver 66-18 from behind the arc.
Jokic had 27 points, 20 rebounds and 11 assists, giving him his 139th career triple-double - one more than Hall of Famer Magic Johnson. Jokic only trails Oscar Robertson (181) and teammate Russell Westbrook (200) on the career list.
Caris LeVert added 21 points off the bench, Evan Mobley scored 20 and Jarrett Allen had 15 rebounds for Cleveland, which improved to 5-0 against Western Conference teams.
Michael Porter Jr. scored 24 and Jamal Murray 19 for the Nuggets.
Nuggets: Didn't do nearly enough on the defensive perimeter to slow down the Cavs, who had nine 3-pointers in the first quarter while opening a 12-point lead.
Cavaliers: Displayed their offensive versatility with a strong deep shooting game and inside muscle to offset the fabulous Jokic.
The Nuggets were still within nine in the final three minutes before Mitchell and LeVert drained consecutive back-breaking 3s. ... Also, a fan won $10,000 for making a halfcourt shot between the third and fourth quarters.
Now in his 10th season, Jokic is averaging a career-high 37.6 minutes per game. Coach Michael Malone acknowledged the challenge in trying to win games while also resting the three-time league MVP. “We've all got to make sure we don't run him into the ground,” Malone said.
The Nuggets visit the two-win Wizards on Saturday. The Cavaliers have back-to-back weekend games against Charlotte and Miami.
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| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00 |  | Nikola Jokic vs. Jarrett Allen (Aaron Gordon gains possession) | ||
| 11:47 |  | Jamal Murray misses two point driving layup | ||
| 11:45 | | Nikola Jokic offensive rebound | ||
| 11:44 | | +2 | Nikola Jokic makes two point tip layup | 2-0 |
| 11:34 | | Donovan Mitchell turnover (bad pass) (Nikola Jokic steals) | ||
| 11:11 | | Isaac Okoro shooting foul (Michael Porter Jr. draws the foul) | ||
| 11:11 | | +1 | Michael Porter Jr. makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 3-0 |
| 11:11 | | +1 | Michael Porter Jr. makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 4-0 |
| 11:02 | | Isaac Okoro misses three point jump shot | ||
| 10:59 | | Aaron Gordon defensive rebound | ||
| 10:49 | | Nikola Jokic misses two point driving layup | ||
| 10:48 | | Nikola Jokic offensive rebound | ||
| 10:43 | | Nikola Jokic misses two point putback layup | ||
| 10:42 | | Evan Mobley defensive rebound | ||
| 10:34 | | +2 | Jarrett Allen makes two point running alley-oop layup (Evan Mobley assists) | 4-2 |
| 10:10 | | Nikola Jokic misses two point driving hook shot | ||
| 10:10 | | Jarrett Allen defensive rebound | ||
| 10:00 | | Darius Garland misses three point jump shot | ||
| 9:58 | | Michael Porter Jr. defensive rebound | ||
| 9:47 | | Jamal Murray misses two point turnaround bank jump shot | ||
| 9:46 | | Jamal Murray offensive rebound | ||
| 9:45 | | +2 | Jamal Murray makes two point tip layup | 6-2 |
| 9:33 | | +2 | Evan Mobley makes two point turnaround hook shot | 6-4 |
| 9:10 | | +2 | Nikola Jokic makes two point turnaround hook shot | 8-4 |
| 9:00 | | +3 | Darius Garland makes three point stepback jump shot | 8-7 |
| 8:52 | | +2 | Aaron Gordon makes two point cutting dunk (Jamal Murray assists) | 10-7 |
| 8:52 | | Cavaliers 60 second timeout | ||
| 8:41 | | Donovan Mitchell turnover (bad pass) (Christian Braun steals) | ||
| 8:35 | | Nikola Jokic turnover (bad pass) (Evan Mobley steals) | ||
| 8:28 | | +3 | Donovan Mitchell makes three point jump shot (Isaac Okoro assists) | 10-10 |
| 8:09 | | Michael Porter Jr. misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 8:07 | | Jarrett Allen defensive rebound | ||
| 8:01 | | Donovan Mitchell misses three point pullup jump shot | ||
| 7:58 | | Jarrett Allen offensive rebound | ||
| 7:54 | | +3 | Evan Mobley makes three point jump shot (Jarrett Allen assists) | 10-13 |
| 7:50 | | Christian Braun turnover (traveling) | ||
| 7:43 | | +3 | Isaac Okoro makes three point jump shot (Donovan Mitchell assists) | 10-16 |
| 7:42 | | Nuggets 60 second timeout | ||
| 7:31 | | Darius Garland shooting foul (Aaron Gordon draws the foul) | ||
| 7:31 | | Aaron Gordon misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | ||
| 7:31 | | Nuggets offensive rebound | ||
| 7:31 | | +1 | Aaron Gordon makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 11-16 |
| 7:18 | | Darius Garland misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 7:14 | | Nikola Jokic defensive rebound | ||
| 7:11 | | +2 | Christian Braun makes two point running layup (Nikola Jokic assists) | 13-16 |
| 6:59 | | +2 | Donovan Mitchell makes two point driving layup | 13-18 |
| 6:46 | | Jamal Murray misses two point turnaround bank jump shot | ||
| 6:43 | | Evan Mobley defensive rebound | ||
| 6:39 | | Donovan Mitchell turnover (bad pass) (Nikola Jokic steals) | ||
| 6:35 | | Donovan Mitchell blocks Christian Braun's two point running layup | ||
| 6:35 | | Nuggets offensive rebound | ||
| 6:25 | | +2 | Russell Westbrook makes two point cutting layup (Nikola Jokic assists) | 15-18 |
| 6:00 | | Caris LeVert misses two point driving floating jump shot | ||
| 5:59 | | Nikola Jokic defensive rebound | ||
| 5:45 | | +2 | Nikola Jokic makes two point driving layup | 17-18 |
| 5:28 | | +2 | Darius Garland makes two point driving floating jump shot (Jarrett Allen assists) | 17-20 |
| 5:20 | | Russell Westbrook misses two point layup | ||
| 5:19 | | Russell Westbrook offensive rebound | ||
| 5:18 | | +2 | Russell Westbrook makes two point tip layup | 19-20 |
| 4:59 | | +3 | Georges Niang makes three point jump shot (Darius Garland assists) | 19-23 |
| 4:40 | | Christian Braun misses three point jump shot | ||
| 4:37 | | Caris LeVert defensive rebound | ||
| 4:30 | | +3 | Caris LeVert makes three point stepback jump shot | 19-26 |
| 4:19 | | Jarrett Allen personal foul (Nikola Jokic draws the foul) | ||
| 4:04 | | Peyton Watson turnover (bad pass) (Jarrett Allen steals) | ||
| 4:01 | | Georges Niang turnover (bad pass) (Peyton Watson steals) | ||
| 3:59 | | Julian Strawther misses three point jump shot | ||
| 3:57 | | Nikola Jokic offensive rebound | ||
| 3:46 | | Russell Westbrook misses three point jump shot | ||
| 3:43 | | Georges Niang defensive rebound | ||
| 3:32 | | Caris LeVert turnover (bad pass) (Russell Westbrook steals) | ||
| 3:27 | | Peyton Watson misses two point running layup | ||
| 3:27 | | Cavaliers defensive rebound | ||
| 3:14 | | +2 | Caris LeVert makes two point driving layup | 19-28 |
| 3:03 | | Nikola Jokic misses two point driving layup | ||
| 3:01 | | Jarrett Allen defensive rebound | ||
| 2:52 | | Caris LeVert misses two point floating jump shot | ||
| 2:49 | | Nikola Jokic defensive rebound | ||
| 2:42 | | +2 | Nikola Jokic makes two point layup | 21-28 |
| 2:33 | | Sam Merrill misses three point pullup jump shot | ||
| 2:31 | | Nikola Jokic defensive rebound | ||
| 2:25 | | +2 | Nikola Jokic makes two point cutting dunk (Russell Westbrook assists) | 23-28 |
| 2:24 | | Cavaliers 60 second timeout | ||
| 1:57 | | +3 | Caris LeVert makes three point jump shot (Donovan Mitchell assists) | 23-31 |
| 1:42 | | Julian Strawther misses two point driving floating bank jump shot | ||
| 1:38 | | Georges Niang defensive rebound | ||
| 1:26 | | Sam Merrill misses three point jump shot | ||
| 1:24 | | Nikola Jokic defensive rebound | ||
| 1:13 | | +2 | Russell Westbrook makes two point driving layup | 25-31 |
| 0:58 | | Evan Mobley misses three point jump shot | ||
| 0:54 | | Peyton Watson defensive rebound | ||
| 0:48 | | Georges Niang blocks Nikola Jokic's two point layup | ||
| 0:45 | | Sam Merrill defensive rebound | ||
| 0:42 | | +3 | Caris LeVert makes three point running jump shot (Sam Merrill assists) | 25-34 |
| 0:31 | | Jamal Murray turnover (bad pass) (Evan Mobley steals) | ||
| 0:25 | | +3 | Caris LeVert makes three point running jump shot (Donovan Mitchell assists) | 25-37 |
| 0:06 | | +2 | Nikola Jokic makes two point layup | 27-37 |
| 0:00 | | Donovan Mitchell misses two point alley-oop layup | ||
| 0:00 | | Nikola Jokic defensive rebound | ||
| 0:00 | | End of period |