National Basketball Association
Denver 128, Sacramento 110
When: 10:00 PM ET, Thursday, February 24, 2022
Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, California
Officials: #46 Ben Taylor, #40 Leon Wood, #48 Scott Foster
Attendance: 15855

Will Barton scored a season-high 31 points, Nikola Jokic barely missed a triple-double and the Denver Nuggets earned their fourth straight win, beating the host Sacramento Kings 128-110 on Thursday.

Jokic amassed 25 points, 12 rebounds, nine assists and four steals as the Nuggets prevailed for the sixth time in seven games.

Denver led almost throughout, trailing only by a basket early into the first quarter. Despite playing from behind most of the way, Sacramento remained within striking distance behind game highs of 33 points and 14 rebounds from Domantas Sabonis.

The double-double was Sabonis' fourth in five games since joining the Kings in a trade from Indiana before the All-Star break.

A Sabonis dunk with 8:22 to go in the fourth quarter pulled Sacramento to within eight points, but Denver's JaMychal Green answered on the next possession with a 3-pointer.

Green's basket ignited an 11-2 Nuggets run that effectively ended the Kings' hope for a rally.

Barton shot 11-for-17 from the floor overall and 3-for-6 from 3-point range. Monte Morris went 3-of-4 from deep, contributing to Denver's 15-of-35 long-range effort, and finished with 19 points.

Green chipped in another 2-for-2 from 3-point range and scored 12 points off the bench. Aaron Gordon added 12 points, six rebounds and three steals in the win, which was the 300th of coach Michael Malone's tenure with the Nuggets.

Malone became the Denver head coach in 2015 after he was the head coach in Sacramento for 1 1/2 seasons.

De'Aaron Fox scored 20 points in the loss for Sacramento, and Harrison Barnes added 14. Jeremy Lamb, who came with Sabonis in the trade from Indiana, notched 11 points off the bench. Sabonis led the Kings with five assists.

Sacramento shot 43 of 86 (50 percent) from the floor but just 9 of 29 (31 percent) from beyond the arc. The discrepancy in 3-point shooting and an 18-10 Nuggets advantage in points off turnovers contributed to the outcome, which was the Kings' third consecutive loss.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Denver   Sacramento
Will Barton 31 Scoring Domantas Sabonis 33
Nikola Jokic 9 Assists Domantas Sabonis 5
Nikola Jokic 12 Rebounds Domantas Sabonis 14
Will Barton 6 Free Throws Made Harrison Barnes 5
Nikola Jokic 4 Steals Harrison Barnes 2
Will Barton 1 Blocks De'Aaron Fox 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Denver 128 55.8 15-35 17-20 30 39 4 12 17
Sacramento 110 50.0 9-29 15-18 25 34 8 5 15
Upcoming Games
  • Sacramento will play their next game on the road against Denver. The Kings have a W/L % of .391 after a win and .342 after a loss.
  • Denver will play their next game at home against Sacramento. The Nuggets have a W/L % of .588 after a win and .560 after a loss.