December 22, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) shoots at New Orleans Pelicans center Eve Michy (21) during overtime at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Image Nikola Jokic overcame a slow start to record a triple-double, and the visiting Denver Nuggets rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat the New Orleans Pelicans 132-129 in overtime Sunday night.
Jokic went scoreless until late in the second quarter, but recorded 27 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists, recording his NBA-high 11th triple-double of the season. He scored 21 of his 27 points in the second half and overtime. Jamal Murray also scored 27 points and Russell Westbrook scored 21 points.
Reserve Jordan Hawkins scored a season-high 25 points, and CJ McCollum paced the Pelicans with 24 points.
Jokic scored the Nuggets’ first three baskets of overtime and then assisted on Gordon’s tiebreaker basket before Jamal Murray added a layup. New Orleans came within 2 points twice later, but could not get any closer.
Rockets 114, Raptors 110
Dillon Brooks scored 27 points, Jalen Green added 22 and Houston topped host Toronto to snap the Raptors’ seventh straight loss.
Alperen Sengun contributed 17 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists for the Rockets, who have won their second straight game. Toronto’s Ja’Kobe Walter scored 14 of his career-high 27 points in the first quarter before fouling out with 2 minutes, 40 seconds left in the game.
Houston outscored Toronto by 18 points at the free throw line, making 27 of 33 attempts while the Raptors also made 9 of 13 in the paint (62-50) and second-chance points (21-10).
Pacers 122, Kings 95
Pascal Siakam led a balanced attack with 19 points, Tyrese Haliburton enjoyed his first homecoming win, and visiting Indiana rolled past struggling Sacramento.
Haliburton, playing in Sacramento for the second time since being traded from the Kings to the Pacers in February 2022, contributed 14 points, eight assists and five rebounds to Indiana’s fourth straight win. Siakam complemented his team-high scoring with a team-high 10 rebounds, marking his second straight double-double and fourth of the season. Myles Turner (15 points), Ben Shepherd (14 points), Nemhard (12 points), TJ McConnell (12 points) and Obi Toppin (11 points) also scored in double figures.
De’Aaron Fox was the game’s top scorer for the Kings with 23 points while shooting just 36.5 percent. He added seven assists. Domantas Sabonis, who moved from Indiana to Sacramento in the six-player Haliburton trade, grabbed a game-high 21 rebounds and scored 17 points.
–Field level media
