The Serbian player shook off a slow start and posted a 27-point triple-double, as Denver beat New Orleans 132-129 in overtime. Fourth win in a row for Indiana, while Houston comes back from -16.
Nikola Jokic, who won his third MVP in four seasons last season, added 13 rebounds and 10 assists to his 27 points.
The Serbian star, who was held to 6 points in the first half, made up for another slow start for Denver, who trailed by 17 points in the third quarter.
The team took a 111-109 lead on Julian Strawther's layup with 4:37 left in regulation.
CJ McCollum gave New Orleans a 119-117 lead again with 53.2 seconds left in the quarter, but Denver guard Jamal Murray made a step-back basket with nine seconds left to tie it at 119-119 and when McCollum missed a three-point shot it went to overtime.
Jokic took over in overtime, scoring Denver's first 6 points and causing the Pelicans' seventh straight loss.
“We seem to like it that way” Jokic said of the Nuggets' late heroics, but added: “We should be hungrier“.
Murray scored 27 points for Denver and Russell Westbrook added 21 off the bench. Jordan Hawkins led New Orleans with 25 points, while McCollum scored 24.
Indiana doesn't stop
Elsewhere, the Indiana Pacers earned their fourth straight win in impressive style, coming out on top in the second half to beat the Kings 122-95 in Sacramento.
Pascal Siakam had a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds and the Pacers scored 70 points in the second half of a dominant victory in which seven Indiana players reached double figures.
Myles Turner scored 15 points, starting guard Tyrese Haliburton and reserve Ben Sheppard added 14 apiece and TJ McConnell contributed 12 points and 10 assists off the bench.
“We gave our all from start to finish“Sheppard said.”The energy we brought, both from the bench and the starters, was a great team victory“.
Point guard De'Aaron Fox scored 23 points to lead the Kings, and Domantas Sabonis added 17 points and 21 rebounds, but Kings fans booed as the team finished with its fourth straight loss.
“A difficult evening for us“Kings coach Mike Brown said.”There will be evenings in which we are not brilliant from an offensive point of view, but we cannot concede 70 points in one half“.
Rockets comeback
The Houston Rockets overcame a 16-point halftime deficit to beat the Raptors 114-110 in Toronto.
Dillon Brooks scored 27 points and Jalen Green added 22 for Houston, which held the Raptors to 5 of 15 shooting in the fourth quarter to put the game away for good.
Alperen Sengun scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Houston, which outscored Toronto 33-26 in the third quarter to take a one-point lead into the fourth.
The Rockets extended the lead to 11 points, but the Raptors cut the deficit to 3 thanks to Ochai Agbaji's dunk with 22.7 seconds left. Toronto got no closer, however, with Brooks ending the game with a free throw.
