Nikola Jokic scored 23 points in his second consecutive triple-double, and his jumper with 11.5 seconds remaining broke a tie and pushed the Denver Nuggets to a 125-123 victory over the host Phoenix Suns on Tuesday.
Jokic added 17 rebounds and tied a season high with 17 assists for his 29th triple-double of the season. He reached the plateau 11 seconds into the second half, when his 10th assist set up Aaron Gordon’s dunk.
Jamal Murray scored 11 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter as the Nuggets (45-28) ran their winning streak to three games.
Devin Booker amassed 22 points and eight assists while Jalen Green and Grayson Allen scored 21 apiece for the Suns (40-33), who have lost six of seven.
Cameron Johnson’s 3-pointer with 16.2 seconds left in the third gave the Nuggets a 97-95 lead, and there were six ties and four lead changes as the teams battled in the final period.
Booker made two free throws with 1:21 left, and Green’s layup tied the game at 121 after Jokic missed a short jumper.
Murray and Booker traded jumpers before Jokic hit his game-winner. Booker’s deep 3-point attempt hit iron but did not fall as time expired.
Tim Hardaway scored 18 points, Gordon had 16 and Johnson put up 14 for the balanced Nuggets, who have won six of eight.
The Nuggets pulled a half-game ahead of the idle Minnesota Timberwolves for fourth place in the West. The top four teams get home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
The Nuggets swept the three-game season series.
Allen and Royce O’Neale (17 points) sank five 3-pointers apiece for Phoenix. O’Neale had missed the previous three games with a knee injury, and Allen (knee) had missed the past four.
The Nuggets had a 50-41 rebounding advantage and turned 14 offensive rebounds into 15 second-chance points.
Jokic had eight points, eight rebounds and five assists in the first quarter. He played in his 802nd game, tying Dan Issel for second in franchise history behind Alex English (837).
Denver closed the second quarter on a 22-8 run and outscored the Suns 39-22 in the period to take a 67-57 lead into halftime. Jokic had 15 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists at the break.
