Nikola Jokic posts triple-double; Nuggets top Kings to stay unbeaten with DeMarcus Cousins
Someday the Denver Nuggets will lose a game with the imposing duo of Nikola Jokic and DeMarcus Cousins manning the center position, but that hasn’t happened yet.
Jokic recorded a triple-double and Cousins came off the bench to make his presence felt against his former team, leading the Nuggets to a 115-110 victory over the Kings on Saturday night at Ball Arena.
Aaron Gordon scored 23 points and Monte Morris added 21 for the Nuggets (35-25), who beat the Kings for the second time in three nights to win their fifth in a row. Jokic, the reigning MVP, finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. Cousins had nine points, eight rebounds, two steals and one blocked shot for Denver, which improved to 9-0 with him coming off the bench.
De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis and Harrison Barnes spearheaded a solid effort for the Kings (22-40), who have lost four in a row to fall a season-worst 18 games under .500. Fox had 26 points and 10 assists, going 10 of 19 from the field. Barnes scored 24 points. Sabonis had 14 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists.
The Kings still had a chance to win in the final minute. They even managed to do a good job defensively against Jokic, who went 6 of 16 from the field and 0 of 5 from 3-point range, but they couldn’t get the baskets they needed to knock off the Nuggets.
“They had some guys who had good games and they have the MVP over there,” Fox said. “I think we did a good job (against Jokic) as a team and Domas did a good job on him as an individual, but closing out, we have to be able to make those shots. It was a tight game with a minute left and they closed the game better than we did.”
The Kings were not pleased with the officiating at the end of the game. Jokic nearly fouled out late in the fourth quarter, but officials ignored a questionable screen on Fox and later overturned a call that would have sent Barnes to the free-throw line.
“It’s interesting,” Barnes said. “You get fouled on a play, no call. You talk to the refs. They say they missed it and you kind of go from there. It happens once, it’s fine, but when it happens multiple times, you sit at the end of the game and wonder. That’s six to eight to 10 free throws, right? Well, what could have happened?”
Cousins, a four-time All-Star who spent his first seven seasons in Sacramento, reunited with former Kings coach Michael Malone when he signed the first of three 10-day contracts with the Nuggets in January. Cousins appeared in eight games for the Nuggets before his last 10-day deal expired Feb. 20. He was not with the team when the Nuggets beat the Kings 128-110 on Thursday in Sacramento. He rejoined the club after the Nuggets signed him for the rest of the season Friday, just in time for the second game of a home-and-home set against the Kings.
“He has great hands,” Malone said. “The number of steals, deflections, physicality and … for all the analytical guys, his per-36 number minutes are just off the charts. For him to get nine and eight, 3-6 from field, 3-4 from the foul line, in only 13:36, you have to love that coming off of the bench.”
During his pregame news conference, interim Kings coach Alvin Gentry noted that the Nuggets have not lost with Cousins coming off the bench behind Jokic.
“I think they’re 8-0 in the games he has played, if I’m not mistaken, so he is a factor,” Gentry said. “He’s a really, really, really skilled guy. I’ve had the opportunity to coach him and he’s a skilled guy. Great passer. Really kind of plays like Joker plays. He’s capable of making 3-piont shots, really good passer, can play inside or out, so we’ll have to rotate the same.”
Cousins checked in for the first time with 2:13 to play in the first quarter and immediately made an impact, pulling down rebounds, contesting shots, coming up with steals and throwing a pretty pass to a cutting Bones Hyland for a layup. Cousins helped the Nuggets open up a nine-point lead in the second period, but the Kings later staged a 10-0 run to take their first lead of the game on a three-point play by Jeremy Lamb.
The Kings went up 85-80 after Jokic went to the bench with his fourth foul with 1:58 to play in the third quarter, but that gave Cousins a chance to get back on the floor. Cousins tied the game on a putback dunk late in the third and gave Denver the lead early in the fourth, fueling a 14-0 run to put the Nuggets up 94-85.
The Kings came back to tie the game on a basket by Sabonis. They took a 95-94 lead on a free throw by Barnes when Cousins was whistled for a technical foul after getting tangled up with Donte DiVincenzo with 7:30 remaining. The game was tied with under a minute to play, but Monte Morris made a big 3-pointer, Jokic knocked down two free throws and the foul on Barnes was overturned, helping the Nuggets escape with the win.
