Nikola Jokic scores 36, Nuggets trounce Kings for 11th straight road win

The Nuggets refuse to lose on the road They have won consecutive games away from Ball Arena after a - rout of the Kings on Thursday completing a - season series domination over Sacramento Denver is - with another three days off before the Rockets come to town Bucket-getting big men Nikola Jokic slowly worked his way out to the perimeter early He started by spinning around defenders for a pair of smooth buckets in the post Then he tested his touch with a Sombor Shuffle fade-away about feet deep Then he fired his first shot from the -point line also pure He was incapable of missing But soon enough it became clear that Jokic wouldn t need to extend his range too much to bludgeon Sacramento with his scoring His only other -point attempt was a -for- possession at the end of the first half when he was intentionally rushing a shot to ensure Denver would get another possession He made it The Nuggets ascertained their superstar in the pocket and he went for points on of shooting eventually tacking on rebounds and eight of the squad s assists The real magic trick of Denver s performance was that it looked as if Jokic never left His backup did a mighty impressive imitation scoring points without missing from the field Against the association that traded him to Denver Jonas Valanciunas demonstrated off his silky touch on the sorts of interior jumpers and hook shots that are commonplace for Jokic Domantas Sabonis was out for the Kings so the Nuggets centers compensated by treating Sacramento to a big man scoring clinic They combined to make of shots for of Denver s points Pickett in rotation Nnaji out Sacramento was the site of a season-affirming performance from Jalen Pickett eight months ago It was David Adelman s first competition as interim head coach April the day after Stan and Josh Kroenke had rolled the dice and fired Michael Malone and Calvin Booth in one fell swoop The Nuggets were in danger of missing the playoffs with three games to go but they came through amid the chaos with a - win Pickett was an unlikely hero with efficient points and four assists Playing time has perpetually been hard to come by for the reserve point guard But he provided solid minutes in Sacramento again Thursday filling out David Adelman s nine-man rotation with six points five rebounds four assists and two steals It was a modest but steady showing including one nice read in which he slowed down and turned his back to the basket in transition waiting for Bruce Brown to catch up to the play As he did Pickett flicked a semi-no-look pass to him in stride for a layup Related Articles Even as first-year NBA head coach Nuggets David Adelman finds time to watch games as a fan Nuggets Avs and Broncos are off to hot starts Is this the best they ve ever been at the same time Aaron Gordon Christian Braun injury updates Nuggets starters likely out through Christmas Jamal Murray earns first career NBA Western Conference Participant of the Week honor Jamal Murray is backing up preseason talk Will he be at last rewarded as an All-Star The Nuggets were a plus- with Pickett on the floor He has replaced power forward Zeke Nnaji as that ninth man in two consecutive games winning his minutes both nights Nnaji had occupied those minutes for several games since Aaron Gordon s hamstring injury Pour one out for Russ In his th season Russell Westbrook is playing his heart out for an organization that perhaps doesn t deserve that effort level He certainly had various extra motivation when facing the Nuggets this season after they spurned him in free agency but he also only doesn t know any other way to play He was Sacramento s leading scorer in three of four head-to-head matchups against Denver over the last two months capped off by a -point meeting Thursday He s still finding avenues to be productive after he nearly faded into obsolescence last offseason He s still averaging more than seven rebounds and seven assists He s still increasing his efficiency as a -point shooter despite his eternal reputation as a athlete without range It would be a shame if he finished this season in Sacramento instead of on a contending roster