Nikola Jokic had 26 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, Jamal Murray finished with 23 points and eight assists, and the host Denver Nuggets beat the short-handed Golden State Warriors 129-104 in the NBA Cup West Group C game Friday night.
Aaron Gordon contributed 18 points, Jonas Valanciunas finished with 16 points, Christian Braun had 12 and Peyton Watson 10 for Denver, which is 1-1 in pool play.
Golden State played without Steph Curry for the second straight game due to illness, but had Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler III back after a one-game absence. Al Horford (left foot) also did not play.
Green had 17 points and made a game-high five 3-pointers while Butler finished with 16 points. Quinten Post scored 14 points, Will Richard 12 points and Pat Spencer 10 for the Warriors, who played in their first NBA Cup game.
Green hit a 3-pointer to open the game and give Golden State the lead, but that was the last time he was ahead.
The Nuggets went up by 14 at the end of the first quarter before the Warriors pulled within a point. They closed the gap to 11 after the first and scored the first 10 points of the second to get back to 32-31.
Denver responded with flurry to regain control. Murray made two 3-pointers, Valanciunas drained his first from deep, hit a turnaround hook then capped a 19-2 run with another 3-pointer that gave the Nuggets a 51-34 lead.
Murray kept the offense going with two more points from behind the arc en route to 16 points in the period. Denver led by as many as 19 before taking a 66-49 halftime advantage.
Green tried to keep Golden State close with two more 3-pointers to get within 71-60, but the Nuggets opened the lead again.
Jokic hit a sharp layup, Gordon threw down a thunderous dunk and Tim Hardaway Jr. hit a jumper to make it 83-66. Denver closed the period strong to lead 99-77 heading into the fourth and led by as many as 28 in the final 12 minutes.
–Field level media
