Jokic ties Wilt with 3rd triple-double on perfect FG shooting

Nikola Jokic was perfect from the field and at the free throw line, finishing with 26 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists as the Denver Nuggets posted their highest point total of the season in a 142- 105 against the short-handed Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday night. .

Jokic was 11 of 11 from the field, made his only 3-point try and went 3 of 3 from the line. The performance followed another near-perfect outing after he converted all 18 free throws Monday in a 120-114 win over the Golden State Warriors.

It was Jokic's third career triple-double with a 100% hitting percentage, tying Wilt Chamberlain for the most such games all time, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. He also tied Chamberlain's shooting era record by twice recording a 25-point triple-double on 100% field goal shooting, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

In total, it was the 116th regular-season triple-double of Jokic's career, ranking him fourth in NBA history and 22 behind Magic Johnson for third place. Russell Westbrook tops the list with 198 and Oscar Robertson has 181.

“It was a failed and successful match,” Jokic said. “Of course, sometimes you miss, sometimes you make it. Today I made all my shots. It won't be many of those nights.”

Jokic went to the bench Thursday after feeding Christian Braun for a dunk with 1:31 left in the third quarter and completing his 11th triple-double of the season.

“I never saw a triple-double before playing with him, and now I see them all the time,” said sophomore player Peyton Watson, who scored a game-high 20 points while starting instead by Aaron Gordon.

Gordon is out after suffering lacerations to his face and right hand when he was bitten by a family dog ​​at Christmas.

Memphis played without Ja Morant, who was sidelined due to illness. Morant missed his first game since returning from a 25-game suspension earlier this season. The Grizzlies have won all four games Morant has played in since his season debut Dec. 19 in New Orleans.

“Obviously it's a very different team with Ja Morant, so we caught a break with him not being there tonight,” Denver coach Michael Malone said. “This team was playing great basketball. I was proud of our guys, once we found out Ja wasn't playing right before the tipoff, our guys took care of their business.”

Desmond Bane led Memphis with 23 points and Marcus Smart scored 17. Memphis is 6-20 when Morant is out of the lineup.

Jamal Murray scored 20 or more points for the fourth straight game, finishing with 23 points and nine assists for Denver, which has won a season-high six in a row. Murray had 10 points in a high-scoring third quarter as the Nuggets' lead grew to 32 points before the Grizzlies cut it to 23.

“[Jokic] was 11 for 11 tonight,” Malone said, as quoted in the Denver Post. “He doesn't care. If Jamal succeeds, he applauds Jamal. He is more delighted by the success of his teammates [than his own], and that is the true definition of altruism. And he lives it every day. »

Denver outscored Memphis 41-35 in the third period and led by 38 in the fourth quarter.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.