Nikola Jokic Notches 200th Triple-Double in Nuggets Win

Nikola Jokic just joined a club with one other member. The Nuggets center put up 21 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for his 200th career regular-season triple-double, and Denver never trailed in a 104-91 win over the winless New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night.

Jokic and Russell Westbrook are now the only two players in NBA history past 200. The wild part is how fast Jokic got there. Westbrook needed 1,175 games to reach 200. Jokic did it in his 814th. He needs 10 more to pass Westbrook, who retired after last season, for the all-time lead.

How Denver Took Control

This one was over early. Jamal Murray hit his first three shots, all from deep, and Denver shot 62% in the first quarter to build a 37-18 lead. Marvin Bagley's runner pushed the margin to 44-22 in the second quarter, and the Nuggets cruised from there.

Murray led Denver with 23 points on 5 of 11 from three, and Aaron Gordon added 15 points and 11 rebounds. Christian Braun chipped in 15. That is a strong night from a team that came in banged up. Denver played without Cam Johnson (ankle) and Alpha Diallo (sprained wrist), was still missing Julian Strawther and Spencer Jones, and used just nine players.

Zion Williamson gave the Pelicans a push with 25 points on 10 of 14 shooting, including a fourth-quarter three that made it 88-83. Murray answered with a three and a driving finger roll to put it back to 10. New Orleans went just 7 of 30 from deep and fell to 0-4 under first-year coach Jamahl Mosley.

The Numbers That Matter

Three numbers tell the story. Jokic made 8 of 13 shots and all five of his free throws, so the efficiency was there. He also had seven turnovers, which is the one sloppy part of an otherwise easy night. And 16 of his 200 triple-doubles have come against the Pelicans, six more than against any other team. New Orleans fans have seen this movie a lot.

The win completes a home-and-home sweep after Denver came back from 23 down to beat the Pelicans on Saturday. The Nuggets are back to 2-2 after a slow start.

Smacktok Pick Lean

Denver visits Phoenix on Friday. With the Nuggets running a short rotation while Johnson and Diallo are out, we lean higher on Jokic's assists. He is running everything for a nine-man group, and he just handed out 10 with Murray knocking down shots around him.