Spectacular day in the NBA: Nikola Jokic returned from his knee injury on Friday to lead the Nuggets to a win over the Clippers, Luka Doncic shined with 37 points and a triple-double against the Washington Wizards, while Jordi Fernández’s Brooklyn Nets beat the Utah Jazz on the road.
Jokic had missed 16 games since suffering the injury on December 29 in Miami. Without the Serbian, a three-time NBA MVP, the Nuggets have posted a 10-6 record and remain in the top positions in the Western Conference.
Jokic marks comeback and holds off Clippers
In his return, Jokic had a double-double with 31 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists.
This gave his Nuggets a 122-109 win over a Clippers team that came to Denver in great form.
James Harden was the best of the Angelinos with 25 points and 9 assists.
The Nuggets (33-16) are third in the West, while the Clippers (22-25) are in 10th place, the last postseason spot.
Doncic and LeBron have some fun
The Lakers (29-18) cruised through Washington (12-35), defeating the Wizards 111-142, fueled by a triple-double that Luka Doncic had already signed at halftime.
As well as for a dunk recital by LeBron James that ignited Capital One Arena.
Doncic, with no trace of the discomfort that had put him in doubt after a fall on Cleveland’s elevated parquet, finished with 37 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists and three steals, without playing a single minute in the final quarter.
James, for his part, brought out his repertoire.
First, with a spectacular one-handed dunk after an alley-oop by Deandre Ayton.
He then wowed the crowd again with a dunk off his back after another alley-oop from Marcus Smart.
The Wizards, who were coming off of contests and wins in their last two games against the Milwaukee Bucks and Portland Trail Blazers, their first victories since trading CJ McCollum, were a no-show tonight at Capital One Arena.
Nets get back to winning ways
Russian Egor Demin scored a three-pointer for the 34th consecutive game, a new NBA record for a rookie.
In fact, the Moscow native finished 6-of-12 on three-pointers and led the Nets’ 99-109 win at Utah with 25 points and 10 rebounds.
The Nets (13-36) had won just two of their last 17 games and came to Salt Lake City on the heels of seven straight losses.
Michael Porter Jr. was released for personal reasons less than a week before the transfer window closes on February 5.
Porter Jr. has been the best player on Jordi Fernández’s team, averaging 25.6 points per game.
Key victories and surprises in the NBA
In his return, Jokic recorded a double-double
QuéOnnda.com
Also on NBA Friday, the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Memphis Grizzlies 114-106, the Boston Celtics edged the Sacramento Kings 112-93 and the Phoenix Suns beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 126-113.
In Orlando, the Magic defeated the Toronto Raptors 130-120.
While the New York Knicks defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 127-97.
Finally, the Detroit Pistons stormed San Francisco’s Chase Center with a 124-131 victory over the Golden State Warriors.
Stephen Curry left the game in the third quarter with knee discomfort.
This when the Warriors were down 14.
Without Curry, Steve Kerr’s men came close to overtaking Detroit, who led the East at 35-12.
With information from EFE
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