Denver keeps the pressure on

The Denver Nuggets are finishing the regular season in strong form, and Sunday’s 116-93 win over the Golden State Warriors made that point again. It was their sixth straight victory, a run that has pulled them firmly into the battle for third place in the Western Conference. That spot is currently held by the Los Angeles Lakers, who are only one game ahead.

Jokic moves closer to another milestone

None of this would make much sense without Nikola Jokic doing Nikola Jokic things. The Serbian center, now six triple-doubles away from reaching 200, finished with 25 points, 15 rebounds and 8 assists. He was just two assists short of another entry in the history books and one more step in his chase of Russell Westbrook, whose 209 triple-doubles remain the NBA record.

The 2023 NBA champion once again set the tone for Denver, guiding the team through a comfortable win against a Warriors squad that is still badly short-handed. Sunday’s game was the 25th straight in which Golden State has been without Stephen Curry, its best player and, inconveniently for everyone else, still rather important.

Porzingis makes his case without Curry around

Even so, the Warriors appear to be finding another name they can lean on. Kristaps Porzingis has started to look like a player capable of helping lead the San Francisco project alongside the guard from Ohio. The Latvian center was Golden State’s top scorer with 23 points, and he did it with a perfect 5-for-5 from beyond the arc in a little more than 28 minutes. Efficiency, apparently, is still allowed.

Around the rest of the NBA

Sunday night also brought a few other notable results across the league:

  • The Toronto Raptors produced a historic 31-0 run against the Orlando Magic en route to a 139-87 blowout.
  • The Houston Rockets defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 134-102 behind 36 points and 13 rebounds from Alperen Sengun.
  • The Los Angeles Clippers beat the Milwaukee Bucks 127-113 to extend their winning streak to five games.
  • The Indiana Pacers downed the Miami Heat 135-118, though they remain the NBA’s worst team, now one loss behind the Washington Wizards.
  • The Wizards fell 123-88 to the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday.
  • The Brooklyn Nets ended a 10-game losing streak by beating the Sacramento Kings 116-99 in a matchup between two teams clearly thinking ahead to the draft, because subtlety is not always the league’s strong suit.