NBA – Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets still survive in overtime against the Brooklyn Nets (139-144)

What a strange start to the season for Denver. The 2023 champions balanced their record at two wins for as many defeats by beating Brooklyn last night (139-144) but they were still not convincing. After first losing its first two matches at home, the Colorado franchise has just won two matches in a row but went into overtime to rule out normally much weaker opponents: the Raptors then the Nets. All with a very strong performance from Nikola Jokic each time.

The Serbian MVP reached the 40-point mark in his last two outings and stopped at 29 points on Tuesday evening. On the other hand, he signed an almost unprecedented triple-double – only Oscar Robertson did it before him – in NBA history by adding 18 rebounds and 16 assists. He also took advantage of Dorian Finney-Smith’s missed free throw in the final seconds of the fourth quarter to equalize and win overtime.

Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon each scored 24 for the Nuggets and Russell Westbrook finally delivered a stellar performance in attack by scoring 22 points.

Dallas has already won 3 of its first 4 matches despite Luka Doncic being a little down and visibly diminished by leg pain. The Slovenian does his statistics but he seems short of pace, even if that didn’t stop him from posting 24 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists while scoring the basket for the win on Tuesday. But his small form pushes Kyrie Irving to take on more offensive responsibilities. The American leader responds with, for example, 35 points scored last night during the Mavericks’ success against the Timberwolves (114-120).

He notably planted 16 pawns in the third quarter, when the Texan franchise regained control of the game. His performance was necessary to resist the big heat from Anthony Edwards. The Wolves star scored 24 points in the first quarter. But he calmed down after that, even if he still finished with 37 points.

The Warriors had three fewer starters, including Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins, and they were able to rely on a whole bunch of different players to overcome the Pelicans on Tuesday (124-106). Steve Kerr’s men started the game very badly and quickly fell behind by up to 20 points. But Buddy Hield, definitely in very good shape in this first week, restarted the machine by scoring 28 points including 7 winning baskets. He’s been shooting 55% on three-pointers since the restart.

Brandin Podziemski added 19 points, Moses Moody and Jonathan Kuminga 17 and the surprising Lindy Waters III added 21! Golden State then completely dominated the second half against a New Orleans team that was harmless apart from its two stars Zion Williamson (31 points) and Brandon Ingram (30).

Small game for Rudy Gobert, limited to 7 points and 8 rebounds during the Timberwolves’ defeat against the Mavericks.

Nets – Nuggets : 139-144
Jazz – Kings : 96-113
Warriors – Pelicans : 124-106
Timberwolves – Mavericks : 114-120