Nikola Jokic recorded the 200th regular season triple-double of his career on Wednesday night, October 28, and the Denver Nuggets beat the New Orleans Pelicans 104-91 at Smoothie King Center. Jokic finished with 21 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists, and Denver never trailed on the night it completed a two game sweep of its home and home series with New Orleans.
Jokic is the second player in NBA history to reach 200 triple-doubles, joining Russell Westbrook, who retired after last season with the all time record at 209. The milestone arrived on the 11th anniversary of Jokic’s NBA debut, and it was his second triple-double of the young season. Both of them came against the Pelicans, four nights after he posted 35 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists in an overtime win in Denver on Saturday, when the Nuggets rallied from 23 points down.
Ten Away From The All Time Record
The arithmetic now defines the rest of Jokic’s season. He needs 10 more triple-doubles to pass Westbrook, and he reached 200 far faster than the man he is chasing, getting there in 814 games while Westbrook needed 1,175. Oscar Robertson sits third on the list at 181, a mark Jokic passed a while ago. The pace is not theoretical either: Jokic recorded 34 triple-doubles last season, and through four games this season he is averaging 22.0 points, 10.5 rebounds and 9.0 assists.
Congrats to Nikola Jokic of the Nuggets for becoming the second player to reach 200 triple-doubles.
That was the NBA’s official announcement on Wednesday night, and the league’s numbers only underline how routine the extraordinary has become for the 31 year old. Jokic, a three time league MVP and the 2023 Finals MVP, had already reached double figures in rebounds and assists by the end of the third quarter in New Orleans. It was not his cleanest night, with seven turnovers and five of them in the first half, but the production never stopped. He shot 8 of 13 from the field and made all five of his free throws, and he grabbed five of his 13 rebounds in the fourth quarter to keep the Pelicans at a distance.
Murray Sets The Tone Early
Canadian guard Jamal Murray led Denver in scoring with 23 points on 9 of 19 shooting, including five three pointers, and he set the game’s shape in the first quarter. Murray made his first three shots, all of them from deep, as the Nuggets shot 62 percent in the opening period and built a 37-18 lead. Marvin Bagley III stretched the margin to 44-22 with a runner early in the second quarter, the largest lead of the night, and Denver went into halftime up 57-45.
The support ran through the whole short rotation. Aaron Gordon added 15 points and 11 rebounds, Christian Braun scored 15, and Trevon Brazile finished with 11 points and eight rebounds. Denver entered the game with a long injury list and used just nine players, playing without Cam Johnson, who has an ankle injury, and Alpha Diallo, who has a sprained wrist, while Julian Strawther and Spencer Jones also remained out. On a night like that, the Nuggets needed their two stars to carry the structure of the game, and Jokic and Murray did exactly that.
Pelicans Rally Falls Short
New Orleans refused to let the night become a procession. Zion Williamson scored a game high 25 points on 10 of 14 shooting, and his fourth quarter three pointer pulled the Pelicans within five at 88-83. The answer came from Murray, who responded with a three pointer and then a driving finger roll to push the lead back to 10, and Braun followed with back to back three pointers in the late stretch to close the door.
Derik Queen had 11 points and 12 rebounds off the bench for New Orleans, and Jeremiah Fears scored 11, but the Pelicans shot just 7 of 30 from three point range, a 23.3 percent mark that kept every rally one shot short. Jordan Poole left the game in the first half with a left ankle injury and did not return. New Orleans is 0-4 under first year head coach Jamahl Mosley, and the Pelicans host the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night still looking for a first win. Denver, now 2-2, moves on to an NBA Cup group stage opener at the Phoenix Suns on Friday night, with Jokic’s pursuit of Westbrook sitting at 10 and counting.
