The Denver Nuggets have been so dominant this season that they’ve clinched the Northwest Division with just a few weeks left within the common season.
Nikola Jokic deferred to teammates early earlier than searching for his shot and completed with 30 factors to assist the Nuggets beat the Detroit Pistons 119-100 on Thursday evening and finish a season-high four-game dropping streak.
“This has to be a building block,” Denver coach Michael Malone stated. “I told our team it’s a good win. Clinched a playoff spot. Won your division. That’s great. Let this be the start of something special. We lost four in a row, the lowest of the low for us during this season. Now, let’s get back to playing and go on a run.”
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 20 factors, Jamal Murray had 19, and Aaron Gordon 15 for the Western Conference-leading Nuggets.
Jokic, the two-time reigning NBA MVP, had three assists and three rebounds earlier than his first try a number of minutes into the sport and completed 14 of 18 from the sector with 10 rebounds and 9 assists.
The short-handed Pistons had been aggressive for 3 quarters, main by as many as seven factors in a recreation with 16 lead adjustments and 10 ties. The Nuggets picked up their depth on defence within the fourth and pulled away simply to steer by double digits halfway by the quarter.
“A championship team is going to turn up their energy,” Detroit coach Dwane Casey stated. “We talked about that during the timeout. We didn’t respond, and that’s part of our growth.”
Rodney McGruder scored 20 for the Pistons, who’ve misplaced 12 of 13 video games and have the NBA’s worst file. Detroit rookies Jalen Duren had 15 factors and 13 assists, whereas Jaden Ivey added 14 factors and 6 assists.
