Jamal Murray scored 32 points, Nikola Jokic compiled 23 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds and the host Denver Nuggets beat the Orlando Magic 126-115 on Thursday night.
Jokic passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most career assists by a center. The Denver star now has 5,667 assists, seven more than Abdul-Jabbar’s lifetime total and the 50th-best figure in NBA history.
Cameron Johnson contributed 19 points and 11 rebounds, Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 12 points, Bruce Brown added 11 points and Jonas Valanciunas finished with 10 points for Denver, which has won six straight.
The Nuggets were without Peyton Watson, who sustained a right trunk injury in Denver’s overtime win over the Houston Rockets on Monday. Orlando’s Jalen Suggs was inactive because of a left hip contusion sustained Saturday in the NBA Cup semifinals against the New York Knicks.
Orlando’s Paolo Banchero had 26 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists for the third triple-double of his career and his first of the season. Wendell Carter Jr. also scored 26 points, Anthony Black finished with 22 points and Jett Howard scored 12 off the bench for the Magic.
Orlando led by seven after the first quarter and stretched it to 47-33 with 7:47 left in the first half before the Nuggets caught fire behind Murray.
He hit consecutive 3-pointers, fed Spencer Jones for a layup and drained a 15-footer to cut Denver’s deficit to 49-46. Jokic drained a pair of free throws and an 11-foot turnaround jumper to give the Nuggets their first lead of the night, 53-52.
Murray kept it going, scoring 12 points in the final 2:30 to send Denver into halftime with a 68-54 lead.
The Nuggets continued to surge at the start of the third quarter. Jokic opened the period with a driving bank shot and then dished out two assists to help Denver go up 81-60 with 9:04 left into the third.
The Magic responded, pulling within nine on a Banchero dunk with 2:27 to go in the period, but Johnson hit a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws to help Denver take a 99-85 lead into the fourth.
The Nuggets were up 121-104 late in the fourth, but Orlando scored 11 consecutive points to get within six on a dunk by Black with 1:32 to go. Johnson hit a corner 3-pointer and two free throws to seal the outcome.
