The final matchup of the NBA’s five-game Christmas Day slate produced a rousing way to end a busy holiday of basketball.
The Denver Nuggets held on for a 142-138 overtime win over the Minnesota Timberwolves that featured a Nikola Jokić triple-double with 56 points, 16 rebounds and 15 assists, as well as an eventful night from Anthony Edwards.
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We’ll start with Edwards, who finished the game with 44 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 1 game-tying shot with 1.1 seconds to go in regulation, and 1 ejection.
The fifth 40-point game of the season for Edwards was highlighted by his 24 points in the fourth quarter and overtime. The game needed only an extra period because of the Timberwolves’ guard’s clutch shot late in regulation to erase a 15-point lead by Minnesota.
Edwards would not finish overtime, however, as he picked up his second technical foul with 20.5 seconds remaining.
On the other side, Jokić’s night saw him record the 179th triple-double of his career in the victory. The three-time MVP put up 18 points in the first quarter and completed his triple-double by the middle of the third quarter. He finished by scoring 18 of Denver’s 27 points in overtime for the first 55/15/15 game in NBA history.
Jokić’s 56 points puts him third all-time on the NBA’s Christmas Day scoring list behind Bernard King (60) and Wilt Chamberlain (59). He also seems to enjoy playing the Timberwolves after posting triple-doubles in each of his past four games against Minnesota, which includes his career-high of 61 points last April.
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“Bro, it’s unbelievable. We’re watching history on a night-to-night basis,” Nuggets guard Peyton Watson said afterward.
The win improved the Nuggets to 22-8 as they sit second in the Northwest Division, 2 1/2 games ahead of the Timberwolves. Denver remains in third place in the Western Conference, one game behind the San Antonio Spurs and 3 1/2 games behind the conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder.
