SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Nikola Jokic might lead the Denver Nuggets to another deep playoff run and he might even win his first MVP award, but he can’t seem to beat the Kings.
Jokic turned in another monster performance with a 50-point double-double, but the Kings beat the Nuggets for the third time this season, winning 119-114 at Golden 1 Center on Saturday afternoon.
Harrison Barnes had a team-high 28 points and seven rebounds for the Kings (11-11), who have won six of their last seven games to get to .500.
“We’re in a good groove right now,” Barnes said.
Jokic had a career-high 50 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds for the Nuggets (12-10), extending his streak of consecutive double-doubles to start the season to 22 games. Jokic made 20 of 33 field-goal attempts and 3 of 6 from 3-point range.
According to Basketball-Reference, Jokic became the first center to post at least 50 points and 10 assists in a game since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Jan. 19, 1975.
“Jokic is one of the front runners for MVP this season,” Kings coach Luke Walton said. “There’s not much you can do. If you double him, he throws it to an open cutter, and if you guard him one-on-one, he scores, so you’ve got to give him a lot of credit, but I think our guys really battled. They tried to make it tough on him, which is all you can do against superstars sometimes.”
De’Aaron Fox had 24 points and five assists for the Kings. Tyrese Haliburton came off the bench to post a career-high 23 points and six assists. Richaun Holmes recorded a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds.
Hassan Whiteside had 11 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots, recording his first double-double for the Kings. Buddy Hield’s league-best streak of 87 consecutive games with a 3-pointer came to an end as he finished 0 of 9 from 3-point range, but he had seven assists with zero turnovers and made a number of unselfish plays to contribute to the win.
The Kings beat the Nuggets twice in the first week of the season, picking up two early wins over a team that reached the Western Conference finals last season. They did it again in a matinee affair Saturday despite the best efforts of Jokic.
Jokic, who had a 47-point game against the Utah Jazz last weekend, has established himself as an early MVP candidate along with LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Joel Embiid and Kevin Durant. The 284-pound Serbian center came into the contest averaging 26.1 points, 11.6 rebounds and 8.4 assists. His streak of 22 consecutive double-doubles to start the season is the second-longest in league history, behind only Bill Walton (34) in 1976-77.
Sacramento led 26-25 at the end of the first quarter and carried a 53-52 lead into the halftime break. The Kings shot just 44.4% from the field, but they recorded 15 assists on 20 made baskets with only three turnovers while holding the Nuggets to 43.8% shooting.
The Nuggets went ahead on a couple of occasions early in the third quarter, but a series of baskets by Holmes and Barnes helped the Kings reclaim the lead. They went up 74-71 on a 3-pointer by Barnes, extended the lead to eight on a basket by Whiteside and went into the fourth quarter with an 87-81 advantage.
Sacramento went up by as many as 14 in the fourth. Jokic helped the Nuggets cut the deficit to six with 4:27 to play, but a big 3-pointer by Haliburton ended the run, putting the Kings up 105-96 with four minutes remaining. Hield could have taken a contested shot in search of his first 3-point basket, but he passed to Haliburton, who was open in the corner.
Jokic made a couple of long 3-pointers in the final minute to get his team within four, but the Kings knocked down their free throws to secure the win.
