Cavaliers 126-114 Nuggets (December 5, 2024) Game Recap

CLEVELAND – Donovan Mitchell scored 28 points, Darius Garland added 24 and the Cleveland Cavaliers improved to 13-1 at home with a 126-114 victory Thursday night over the Denver Nuggets, who missed a triple-double from Nikola Jokic.

The Cavs made a season-high 22 3-pointers and extended their streak of making at least 10 3-pointers to a club-record 28 games since last season.

Cleveland outscored Denver behind the arc 66-18.

Jokic scored 27 points, 20 rebounds and 11 assists, giving him his 139th career triple-double – one more than Hall of Famer Magic Johnson. Jokic trails only Oscar Robertson (181) and teammate Russell Westbrook (200) on the career list.

Caris LeVert added 21 points off the bench, Evan Mobley scored 20 and Jarrett Allen had 15 rebounds for Cleveland, which improved to 5-0 against Western Conference teams.

Michael Porter Jr. scored 24 and Jamal Murray 19 for the Nuggets.

Takeaways

Nuggets: Didn’t do nearly enough defensively to slow the Cavs, who made nine 3-pointers in the first quarter while building a 12-point lead.

Cavaliers: Showed their offensive versatility with strong shooting from deep and inside muscle to offset the fabulous Jokic.

Key moment

The Nuggets were still within nine heading into the final three minutes before Mitchell and LeVert hit back-to-back game-winning threes. … Additionally, a fan won $10,000 for a half-court throw between the third and fourth quarters.

Key statistics

Now in his 10th season, Jokic is averaging a career 37.6 minutes per game. Coach Michael Malone recognized the challenge of winning games while resting the league’s three-time MVP. “We all have to be careful not to bring him to his knees,” Malone said.

Next

The Nuggets visit the Wizards on Saturday with two wins. The Cavaliers have back-to-back games against Charlotte and Miami this weekend.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba