Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray dominate as Nuggets complete perfect homestand

There was an Eastern European flavor to Denver’s matchup against Dallas on Tuesday at Pepsi Center. The Nuggets, led by star Serbian big man Nikola Jokic, needed to knock off the Mavericks, whose headlining act is Slovenian wunderkind Luka Doncic, to complete a perfect four-game homestand. Jokic and Doncic traded body blows for most of the night. Ultimately, it was the player from the easternmost Balkan country whose team came out on top.

Jokic scored 32 points on 13-of-25 shooting as Denver beat Dallas 126-118 to improve to 21-9. Jokic came out firing from the first whistle. He took nine shots in the first quarter and 18 by halftime. Doncic was impressive with 23 points and 12 assists, but there was just too much Denver firepower to overcome.

The Nuggets ripped off a 14-0 run to end the third quarter. They led by 10 going into the final 12 minutes of play. The Mavericks made things interesting in a hurry, whittling that deficit to three with 9:14 to go. Denver never let them get over the hump, though.

With roughly five minutes to go, Jamal Murray stuffed Wes Matthews’ shot and took the ball for a coast-to-coast layin. Murray had an outstanding all-around game, scoring 22 points and handing out a career-high 15 assists.

Seven Nuggets scored in double figures. Trey Lyles, who was shooting 23.5 percent from deep going into Tuesday, hit three 3s en route to 17. Monte Morris (16 points, five assists) was rock solid once again.

The Nuggets earned wins over Memphis, Oklahoma City, Toronto and Dallas during this homestand without three regular starters in Will Barton, Gary Harris and Paul Millsap. They face the Clippers in Los Angeles on Saturday.