Cavs’ 3-point barrage outscores Nuggets despite Nikola Jokic’s monster play

Nikola Jokic moved into third place in career triple-doubles with 27 points, 20 rebounds and 11 assists in Cleveland on Wednesday, but his Denver Nuggets couldn’t withstand the host Cavaliers’ 3-point shooting and lost 126 on Thursday night: 114.

Jokic’s 139th career triple-double broke a tie with Magic Johnson on the all-time list. It was also his second triple-double with 20-plus points and 20-plus rebounds this season.

However, the Cleveland quartet of Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Caris LeVert and Evan Mobley responded with a combination of 17 treys and 93 points.

Led by Mitchell’s 28 points and 6 of 10 shooting from distance, Cleveland’s perimeter shooting gave the Cavaliers a near-definite win. The lead grew to as many as 18 points several times in the second half before Denver used a 7-0 run late in the fourth quarter to fight to cut the deficit to single digits.

LeVert, who scored 21 points off the bench, helped counter the Denver burst by hitting the last of his five 3-pointers on six attempts. After the Nuggets’ Michael Porter Jr. scored two of his 24 points on the ensuing possession, Mitchell came down again and sank another three-pointer on one of LeVert’s six assists.

The back-to-back triples ended any hope of a Denver rally and reflected the story of the night.

While Cleveland shot 22 for 48 (45.8 percent) from distance and five Cavaliers made several three-pointers, the Nuggets only shot 6 for 24 (25 percent) from distance.

Mobley shot 3-for-5 from 3-point range and 7-for-11 from the floor, totaling 20 points. He also had nine rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Garland added 24 points and four assists. He shot 3 of 10 from outside. Jarrett Allen contributed eight points, six assists and 15 rebounds.

Aaron Gordon scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds for Denver. Jamal Murray added 19 points and both Russell Westbrook and Christian Braun recorded 10 points.

–Field level media