Nikola Jokic led the Denver Nuggets to a 142:105 (64:48) home win over the Memphis Grizzlies with his next brilliant performance in the NBA.
On Thursday (December 28, 2023), the Serbian superstar scored 26 points, 14 rebounds and ten assists, marking his eleventh triple-double of the season. The two-time most valuable player in the North American Basketball League hit each of his eleven shot attempts from the field and each of his three free throws.
The Nuggets won all four periods and took a 23-point lead after three quarters. The NBA defending champions were able to rest Jokic in the final section of the game. With their sixth win in a row, the Nuggets are currently the hottest team in the NBA and are in second place in the Western Conference behind the Minnesota Timberwolves.
28th straight loss for the Pistons
For the Detroit Pistons, however, the series of defeats continues: The team from Michigan lost the 28th game in a row, no team in NBA history has lost more games in a row. Against the Boston Celtics, leaders in the Eastern Conference, the Pistons showed themselves to be on equal terms, led by 19 points at the break and ultimately had to admit defeat in overtime with 122:128 (66:47, 108:108).
With the 28th defeat in a row, Detroit equaled the Philadelphia 76ers’ negative record. Philadelphia also suffered 28 bankruptcies in a row at the end of the 2014/15 season and at the beginning of the 2015/16 season. Detroit had previously set the negative record within a season with 27 defeats in a row. “It hurts like hell,” said Detroit coach Monty Williams: “But the boys give their all in training every day.”
Special points stamp from Tyrese Haliburton
Tyrese Haliburton achieved a special feat in his Indiana Pacers’ 120:104 (63:52) away win against the Chicago Bulls: The playmaker scored 21 points, distributed 20 assists and never lost the ball once. This makes Haliburton only the second player to do so NBA history, who scored at least 20 points and 20 assists in a game and did not lose the ball at the same time.