Nikola Jokic’s Nuggets beat Victor Wembanyama’s Spurs while Zion Williamson sparks Pelicans

WASHINGTON – Nikola Jokic dominated rookie Victor Wembanyama in a big-man battle as National Basketball Association (NBA) champions the Denver Nuggets defeated the San Antonio Spurs on March 15.

Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic scored 31 points on 13-of-19 shooting while Jamal Murray added 15 points and 10 rebounds in Denver’s 117-106 victory over the Spurs in Austin, Texas.

“I don’t think anybody can do what Nikola does,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “He’s amazing. Fantastic.”

The Nuggets stretched their winning streak to five games and seized sole possession of the Western Conference lead at 47-20, a half-game ahead of the Oklahoma City Thunder, with the second-best record in the NBA behind the Boston Celtics (52-14).

“Holding onto first place is a big deal for us,” said reserve Christian Braun, who replaced Jokic in the final minutes.

“We’ve been on a roll. Our starters have been doing a really good job, playing really well since the All-Star break. That’s what we’ve got to do. I’m here to give Jokic and Jamal a rest.”

French 20-year-old rookie Wembanyama had 17 points on four-of-12 shooting from the floor, going one-of-five from three-point range, and added nine rebounds, two assists, two steals and three blocks for the Spurs, the West’s doormat at 14-53.

Said Jokic: “When we play defence like that, we make our life really easier. We are a good running team. We can get to the basket; we can shoot some open threes.

“We can have some easy offence. Our defence is something that needs to be there every day and today it was there.”

In New Orleans, Zion Williamson powered the New Orleans Pelicans over the Los Angeles Clippers, scoring 34 points in the 112-104 win.

The 23-year-old US power forward hit 14-of-21 shots from the floor and added seven rebounds, four assists, three steals and a blocked shot for the Pelicans, who improved to 40-26 while the Clippers, without James Harden due to a shoulder injury, slid to 42-24.

New Orleans pulled within two games of Los Angeles for fourth in the West and clinched a season tiebreak over the Clippers, but Williamson wouldn’t call it a statement triumph.

“I want to win,” Williamson said. “Simple as that. They can take it how they want. I just wanted to win.

“Every game matters. If you want to be in a good spot in the standings, you’ve got to win every game. That’s the mindset.”

Williamson was especially pleased with the defensive work against Clippers stars Paul George and Kawhi Leonard.

“They’re both elite shot-makers. They’re going to hit some shots,” he said. “Just being physical and communicating. That was the game plan.”

George scored 26 points on 10-of-21 shooting, three-of-nine from three-point range, while Leonard was eight-of-15 from the floor and one-of-three from beyond the arc for 23 points to lead the Clippers.

Meanwhile, Phoenix’s Devin Booker scored 21 points and passed off 11 assists to spark the Suns to victory 107-96 at the Charlotte Hornets.

Grayson Allen added 17 points, Bradley Beal had 15 and Jusuf Nurkic had 13 points and 21 rebounds for the Suns (39-28).

Phoenix’s Kevin Durant scored 13 points and now needs 20 more to pass Shaquille O’Neal’s 28,596 for eighth on the NBA all-time scoring list.

Durant has already overtaken Hakeem Olajuwon, Elvin Hayes, Moses Malone and Carmelo Anthony on the career scoring list this season.

In Miami, Bam Adebayo had team highs of 22 points and nine rebounds to lead the host Heat over the Detroit Pistons 108-95.

Simone Fontecchio had 24 points for Detroit and the Pistons had 15 points and 17 rebounds from Jalen Duren.

In Toronto, Franz Wagner scored 19 points and Paolo Banchero added 17 points, nine rebounds and eight assists to power the Orlando Magic’s 113-103 triumph over the host Raptors.

Gary Trent Jr scored a game-high 31 points in a losing cause as Toronto dropped a sixth consecutive game. AFP