NBA Game Recap - Cleveland at Denver
Sat Jan 19, 2019 10:00 PM EST

OKC
117
PHI
115
F
PHO
115
CHA
135
F
MIL
118
ORL
108
F
DAL
99
IND
111
F
SAC
103
DET
101
F
MEM
90
TOR
119
F
BOS
113
ATL
105
F
MIA
117
CHI
103
F
LAL
134
HOU
138
F(OT)
CLE
102
DEN
124
F

Denver 124, Cleveland 102

Jan 19, 2019, 10:00 PM EST

Final

1

2

3

4

T

Cleveland

25

21

30

26

102

Denver

37

33

31

23

124

Murray, Jokic lead Nuggets past Cavs 124-102
Sun Jan 20, 2019 1:47 AM

DENVER (AP) Nikola Jokic likes the way the Denver Nuggets have bounced back from their worst loss of the season.

Jokic had 19 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds in his sixth triple-double this season, and the Nuggets beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 124-102 on Saturday night. Jamal Murray scored 26 points as Denver won for the third time in four games, though the lone blemish in that span was a 31-point loss to Golden State earlier this week.

"We were focused," Jokic said. "We played the right way from the get-go."

Trey Lyles had 16 points and Monte Morris finished with 15 for the Nuggets, who went 15 for 37 from 3-point range. Murray made four 3s, and Jokic, Morris and Malik Beasley each had three.

"We played with a lot of energy," Murray added. "We played hard, we came out strong and we played for four quarters, which is great. We just have to keep going."

Added Gary Harris: "Besides a few slipups here and there, we've been taking care of the teams we need to take care of."

Cleveland closed out a six-game trip with its third consecutive loss. It has dropped 15 of 16 overall.

"We couldn't match their size," Cleveland coach Larry Drew said. "They are a big, physical team. We tried to move some things around. We tried to change the game up a little bit, play some zone, but in the end, their size just wore us down."

Ante Zizic led the Cavaliers with 23 points. Rodney Hood had 18 points, and Cedi Osman finished with 17.

Jokic secured his 22nd career triple- double by late in the third quarter, and the Nuggets carried a 25-point lead into the fourth. They substituted freely throughout the final period.

TIP-INS

Cavaliers: G J.R. Smith remains away from the team due to personal reasons. ... F Tristan Thompson was sidelined by left foot soreness.

Nuggets: F Juancho Hernangomez missed the game with an abdominal strain. ... Coach Michael Malone said there is still no timeline for the return of G Isaiah Thomas, who is rehabbing from right hip surgery that has sidelined him since last spring. Responding to a report that Thomas could return sometime in February, Malone said: "There is nothing that has been said about February. You will see him when he is ready to play."

UP NEXT

Cavaliers: Return home to host the Chicago Bulls on Monday.

Nuggets: Play at Utah on Wednesday night.

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More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports

Leaders

Cleveland PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
A. Zizic 23 -16 0 6 0 0
R. Hood 18 -4 3 0 2 0
Denver PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
J. Murray 26 18 5 2 0 0
N. Jokic 19 21 12 11 1 0

Team Comparison

CLE DEN
Points For 102 124
Field Goals 35/72-49% 50/89-56%
Three Pointers 10/29-34% 15/37-41%
Free Throws 22/26-85% 9/11-82%
Offensive Rebounds 5 12
Defensive Rebounds 23 31
Rebounds 34 48
Blocks 1 2
Steals 5 7
Turnovers 12 11
Points Scored Off Turnovers 9 22
Points in the Paint 48 58
Fast Break Points 12 10
Personal Fouls 15 25
Technical Fouls 0 1
Flagrant Fouls 0 0
Ejections 0 0

2018-19 Reg Season - DEN Leads Series 2-0

Date Result Away Pts Ldr Home Pts Ldr
Thu Nov 1 DEN 110 @ CLE 91 J. Hernangomez 23 J. Clarkson 17
Sat Jan 19 CLE 102 @ DEN 124 A. Zizic 23 J. Murray 26

Game Information

Stadium: Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado
Attendance: 19,520
Game Time: 2:2