DENVER: Nikola Jokic took an inbounds pass with 1.7 seconds left in the third quarter, turned and let fly with a 66-foot heave that got all net at the other end. He casually walked over to his bench as his teammates mobbed him and the sold-out arena erupted.
“I thought it had a chance, and then boom,” Russell Westbrook said. “The best part of it was no reaction from him. Which I love.”
It appeared to be a footnote in what looked like a Denver Nuggets blowout win Thursday night. Denver led Sacramento 110-85 at that point but had to hold off a late rally to pull out a 132-123 victory over the Kings, its fourth straight.
Jokic finished with 35 points, 22 rebounds and a season-high 17 assists, and the shot from three-quarters court stood out among his 12 field goals.
“Not surprising,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “He’s a guy that has this uncanny ability.”
Jokic took the low-percentage shot but saw his 3-point average rise. He made 2 of 3 from behind the arc and is now shooting 47.9 percent from deep.
“When you play you want to make every shot,” he said. “I took it to make it and I did make it. It’s a lucky shot, not really a high-percentage shot, but I took it to make it. It’s three points. It’s going to help us.”
Jokic’s shot highlighted his fifth straight triple-double, all before the end of the third quarter, and his 20th of the season, the most in the NBA this season.
He also has an uncanny ability to put up historic numbers. He is now averaging a triple-double for the season — 30.2 points, 13.4 rebounds and 10 assists — and two weeks ago he and Westbrook became the first teammates to both record triple-doubles in same game multiple times.
Thursday night he hit another milestone.
According to the NBA, Jokic joins Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history to record a game with at least 35 points, 20 rebounds and 15 assists.
“I think this the best basketball I’ve ever played,” Jokic said. “I’m feeling good out there, I’m in shape, the ball is going in. I think I’m playing really good.”
Jokic earned another All-Star spot for the event next month in San Francisco. It is the seventh straight time he has been named to the All-Star game and it’s the fifth in a row as a starter.
“Just to be on the floor with the best players in the league is an honor,” he said.

DUBAI: A late blitz by Dasun Shanaka was instrumental in helping the Dubai Capitals register a comprehensive win over the Gulf Giants at the Dubai International Stadium on Thursday evening.

The Dubai Capitals won by five wickets and eight deliveries to spare as Shanaka threw the kitchen sink at the Gulf Giants. 

Asked to bat first, the Gulf Giants’ skipper James Vince looked to attack from the get-go. At the other end though, Obed McCoy gave the Dubai Capitals their first wicket, as he dismissed Ibrahim Zadran for three. Vince, who hit four boundaries in his 24, was joined by Jordan Cox and kept the scoreboard moving for the Gulf Giants.

Just before the end of the powerplay, Vince was dismissed, and early in the seventh over Tom Alsop was knocked over for two by Zahir Khan. Then Cox took charge and had good support from Gerhard Erasmus.

Even though the Dubai Capitals kept things tight, Cox and Erasmus put on a 69-run stand to give the Giants some momentum in the final phase of the innings. Erasmus though departed for 29, and shortly after Cox completed his half-century, with the big-hitting Shimron Hetmyer for company.

Hetmyer and Cox were looking to score quickly, but the Dubai Capitals’ bowling kept them firmly in check. In the final over of the innings, Cox was run out for a well-made 70, which helped the Gulf Giants post a competitive 153/5 in 20 overs. Hetmyer remained unbeaten on 17.

In response, Ben Dunk and Shai Hope started off steadily, and were looking to set up the platform for the Dubai Capitals’ chase. Dunk though fell for 10, and Khalid Shah could only add 10 more to the cause.

Gulbadin Naib then joined Hope and the duo found the gaps well, picking up a series of boundaries as the Dubai Capitals fought back. Naib was the next to depart for 17 as Aayan Khan picked up his second wicket. Najibullah Zadran, however, was back in the hut for seven, which brought captain Sikandar Raza to the middle, alongside Hope.

Raza and Hope put on 33 runs together, which steadied the ship. The Dubai Capitals needed a strong partnership, and Hope along with Raza were able to set up the platform for the final overs. Hope was packed off for 47 by Blessing Muzarabani, who then went on to concede 18 runs in the over.

Shanaka continued his attack on the Gulf Giants’ bowling right through and finished off the contest with two sixes, a boundary and a single in the 19th over. Shanaka finished unbeaten on 34 off 10 deliveries while Raza had 26 from 15.

Player of the match Hope said: “I am just trying to grow and for that I have got to adapt quickly and improve my game. And I got to continue doing it. I want to improve every time I get on to the field.”

The Gulf Giants’ captain Vince added: “Shanaka was able to strike it cleanly and he took it away from us in the last three overs. It was a much better performance from us overall and we felt it was a decent score.”

Brief scores

Dubai Capitals beat Gulf Giants by 5 wickets

Gulf Giants 153/5 in 20 overs (Jordan Cox 70, Gerhard Erasmus 29, Dushmantha Chameera 1 for 31, Zahir Khan 1 for 32) 

Dubai Capitals 154/5 in 18.4 overs (Shai Hope 47, Dasun Shanaka 34 not out, Sikandar Raza 27 not out, Aayan Khan 2 for 23, Muhammad Zuhaib 1 for 22)

Player of the match: Shai Hope