LOS ANGELES: Nikola Jokic scored 35 points as the Denver Nuggets held off a second-half rally by the Minnesota Timberwolves to record a 115-112 victory over their Western Conference rivals on Tuesday.
Serbian star Jokic shepherded Denver over the line after Minnesota erased an 18-point second-quarter deficit to seriously rattle the reigning NBA champions.
Minnesota, missing the injured Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert, had a last-gasp attempt to force overtime only for Anthony Edwards’ three-point attempt to bounce off the rim.