Michael Malone conceded he is worried by the Denver Nuggets' form after Thursday's 126-114 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Nikola Jokic recorded a triple-double, but could not propel Denver to victory, with the Nuggets now 11-9 for the season, having lost five of their last six games in the league.

Jokic's haul of 27 points, 20 rebounds and 11 assists saw him move onto 139 career triple-doubles; he is now third on the all-time list, behind Oscar Robertson (181) and teammate Russell Westbrook (200), having surpassed Magic Johnson.

While Malone credited Jokic, he is concerned by his team's performances.

"We just got our butts kicked," Malone said.

"Obviously, I love Nikola, and I feel very fortunate to coach a player with his talent and he'll go down as one of the best to ever do it.

"I'm happy to hear that [he is third for triple-doubles], I really am. But I'm so much more concerned about our team right now and where we're at.

"It's not so much that we lost tonight. I knew coming in here would be a tall order. I just don't like how we lost and there is a big difference."

Malone is also wary of putting too much pressure on Jokic.

"We've all got to make sure we don't run him into the ground," he added.

Jokic said the achievement was not something he is too focused on right now.

He said: "It's something that you're probably going to look at after you finish your career.

"Right now, you don't even think about it. But it's a great thing. It's really nice."

Donovan Mitchell led the Cavs with 28 points, as Cleveland improved to 13-1 at home for the season.

"That's a hard team to slow down," said Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson, who was particularly impressed with how his team dealt with Jokic despite the Serbian's high-scoring game.

"We made [Jokic] work, get his efficiency down.

"When Jokic kills you is when he has those 15, 17 assist games. Not that we wanted him to score whatever he scored, but you have to pick your poison.

"A lot of those points [Jokic scored] were in transition, and that's one of their elite attributes. We didn't do a great job there but we were better in the second half."

Kristaps Porziņģis had 16 points in 23 minutes in a successful season debut as the Boston Celtics stayed hot with Monday's 126-94 blowout of the Los Angeles Clippers.

Porzingis' return from offseason ankle surgery helped turn this clash of teams that came in each owning five-game winning streaks into a laugher. Three-point shooting turned out to be the biggest factor, however, as the defending NBA champion Celtics hit 22 shots from beyond the arc while holding Los Angeles to a 7-of-26 effort (26.9 per cent) on such tries.

Payton Pritchard went 6 of 10 from 3-point range while scoring 20 points off the bench for Boston. Jayson Tatum also had 20 points to go along with nine rebounds, while Derrick White added 19 points and seven assists while going 5 of 9 on 3-point attempts.

Ivica Zubac led Los Angeles, which was coming off a win in Philadelphia on Sunday, with 23 points on 11-of-14 shooting as well as 10 rebounds. James Harden flirted with a triple-double in defeat by tallying 19 points, eight rebounds and nine assists.

After taking a 27-20 lead after one quarter, the Celtics overwhelmed the Clippers from the perimeter in the second. Boston hit 12 shots from beyond the arc for the period and shot 70.8 per cent overall while outscoring Los Angeles by a 51-29 margin during the quarter.

The scoring barrage sent Boston into the break owning a commanding 78-49 advantage.

Los Angeles never seriously threatened in the second half, as the Celtics never held a lead smaller than 15 points over the final two quarters.

Nets overcome 18-point deficit to stun Warriors

Dennis Schröder scored 23 of his 31 points in the second half to spark the Brooklyn Nets to a surprising 128-120 comeback road win over the Golden State Warriors.

The Nets handed the Warriors a second straight loss after a 12-3 start to the season despite trailing by 18 points midway through the third quarter. Brooklyn was able to rally for its second win in as many nights behind big efforts from Schroder and Ziaire Williams, who had 13 of his 19 points after half-time and finished with 10 rebounds.

Cam Thomas added 23 points for Brooklyn, which was coming off a 108-103 road victory over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday.

Golden State received 28 points and seven assists from Stephen Curry and 18 points from Andrew Wiggins, but failed to get late stops on defence while being outscored 41-28 in the fourth quarter.

The Warriors appeared to have the game in control after Curry tallied seven points during an 11-0 run that gave them an 86-68 lead with seven minutes left in the third quarter.

Brooklyn answered with 11 straight points of its own, however, and later got to within 92-87 after Trendon Watford sank a 3-pointer to end the third quarter.

Schroder then scored the first eight points of the fourth, with his 3-ball with 9:43 to go breaking a 92-92 tie. 

The Warriors were never able to get the lead back, with the Nets putting the game out of reach with a late 7-2 spurt that put them up 126-115 in the final minute.

Anunoby's 40 points leads Knicks' blowout of Nuggets

OG Anunoby racked up a career-high 40 points and the New York Knicks tied a franchise record with 45 assists to hand the scuffling Denver Nuggets a 145-118 loss.

Jalen Brunson also set a career best by dishing out 17 of New York's 45 assists, which matched a team single-game high set in 1979. The Knicks also shot a season-high 60.9 per cent from the field to win for the fifth time in six games, with Anunoby hitting 16 of 23 shots and Karl-Anthony Towns going 12 of 15 while adding 30 points and 15 rebounds.

New York held Nikola Jokić to a season-low seven rebounds as well as they dealt Denver a fourth defeat in six games. The reigning NBA MVP did manage 22 points and seven assists, while Russell Westbrook scored 27 points off the bench and Jamal Murray had 20 along with seven assists.

The Nuggets also received their second straight loss at home, where they're 5-4 so far this season after producing a 33-8 record at Ball Arena in 2023-24.

Brunson had nine of his 23 points during an 11-4 run to close out the first quarter that staked New York to a 36-24 lead after 12 minutes of play. Towns then put up 15 points in the second quarter as the Knicks stretched the margin to 23 points by half-time, as they entered the break with a 76-53 advantage.

The Knicks continued to pour it on in the second half, as their lead never got under 17 points and reached as high as 30 in the fourth quarter.

Jason Kidd hailed the character of his Dallas Mavericks team after their gutsy win over the Denver Nuggets.

The Mavericks overcame Luka Doncic's absence, and a triple-double from returning Nuggets star Nikola Jokic, to win 123-120 in Friday's NBA Cup game.

It also marked the third consecutive game the Mavericks have had seven players hit double figures. 

The Mavericks appeared to be running away with a dominant win after leading by as many as 24 points early in the third quarter, only for the Nuggets to swiftly respond. 

They struck a fierce 28-9 run in an eight-minute span to bring the game within single digits going into the final quarter, but the Mavericks held on for a fourth straight win.

"We were here 10 days ago, we learned from that situation, we kept our composure. This group stayed together," Kidd said.  

"On the defensive end we made stops and on the offensive end we made some big plays.

"We didn't finish the game 10 days ago. But the guys stepped up. Defensively, we did what we had to do. A lot of small things that we cleaned up from the last time we were here.

"This is a character game for us. Again without Luka, on the road, we were just in this situation in Oklahoma City. The games are too close for us to make mistakes late.

"This team has a lot of character, a lot of trust and we're becoming a team - it's still early in the season, we've had some injuries, but it's about the next man up and those guys are stepping up."

Dallas (9-7) improved to 2-1 in West Group C to keep their hopes of being one of eight teams to advance to the knockout round. The Mavericks trail the Golden State Warriors, who improved to 3-0 in Group Play after Friday’s win over the New Orleans Pelicans.

It was also a night to remember for Naji Marshall, who scored a career-high 26 points off the bench. 

After scoring 15 points in the second half of Tuesday’s game against the Pelicans, Marshall scored 16 points in the first half on Friday.

Marshall had only two 15-point halves in his career prior to accomplishing the feat in consecutive halves, with Kidd showering praise for his recent displays. 

"Just the trust. Marshall was playing extremely well for us. With the game on the line, he makes a floater with one second left on the shot clock," Kidd said. 

"The confidence the guys have in him on the offensive end and defensive end [helps]."

The Dallas Mavericks withstood blowing a big lead and a triple-double by Nikola Jokic in the reigning NBA MVP's return to the court to come through with a hard-earned 123-120 road win over the Denver Nuggets on Friday.

Dallas also overcame the absence of superstar Luka Doncic, out with a sprained wrist, to extend their winning streak to four games.

Naji Marshall provided the Mavs their biggest lift by recording a career-high 26 points off the bench on 11-of-15 shooting, while P.J. Washington made an impact as well with 22 points and 13 rebounds.

Jokic was back after missing three games due to a personal matter and racked up 33 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists while helping Denver take a late lead in a game it trailed by 24 points in the third quarter.

The Nuggets charged back to grab a 113-108 advantage with three minutes left, but Dallas put forth a late rally of its own to move back ahead.

Washington scored five straight points to pull the Mavericks even, and Quentin Grimes hit two free throws before Washington struck again with a layup that put Dallas up 117-113 with 49.7 seconds to go.

Denver closed the gap to a point on two occasions in the final minute, but couldn't regain the lead and was dealt a third loss in four games. Washington's two free throws with 3.8 seconds remaining gave Dallas a 123-120 edge before the Nuggets turned the ball over in the last stages.

Kyrie Irving scored 13 of his 19 points during a big second quarter that helped the Mavericks build a 73-53 half-time lead after outscoring the Nuggets by a 40-22 margin for the period.

Dallas led by 19 points just over four minutes into the second half before the Nuggets reversed momentum with an 18-2 run, capped by Jokic's short jumper with 3:29 left in the third quarter, to close within 83-80.

The Mavericks moved to 2-1 in the West's Group C bracket with Friday's win, while the Nuggets fell to 1-2 in group play. 

Hobbled 76ers rally past Nets to end losing streak

Jared McCain scored 30 points and helped spark a second-half comeback that carried the injury-plagued Philadelphia 76ers to a much-needed 113-98 win over the Brooklyn Nets.

Playing without ailing stars Joel Embiid and Paul George, Philadelphia still managed to stop a five-game losing streak and rally from a nine-point third-quarter deficit behind McCain and Tyrese Maxey. McCain had 14 fourth-quarter points and 21 in the second half, while Maxey tallied 16 of his 26 points after half-time in his second game back from a strained hamstring.

The duo went a combined 15 of 24 from the field over the final two quarters to lead the 76ers to just their third win in 15 games this season.

Embiid and George are both dealing with knee injuries and will also miss Sunday's game against George's former team, the Los Angeles Clippers.

Brooklyn lost for the sixth time in eight games despite a season-high 37 points from Cameron Johnson, who tied a career best with nine made 3-pointers in 13 attempts. 

The Nets trailed 53-50 at half-time but hit four 3-pointers during a 14-0 run that gave them a 64–55 lead three minutes into the third quarter.

Philadelphia answered shortly afterward with an 18-4 spurt, with Maxey scoring seven points during the surge, to take a 77-72 advantage later in the period.

The Nets fought back and went back ahead when Johnson's 3-pointer gave them a 90-89 edge with 7:25 left, but the 76ers responded with a 16-4 run to take the lead for good. Maxey had nine points during the flurry, with McCain adding seven.

Both teams are now 1-2 in the NBA Cup's East Group A bracket.

Warriors become first team to reach NBA Cup knockout stage

Andrew Wiggins' season-high 30 points helped the Golden State Warriors clinch a spot in the NBA Cup's knockout round by holding on for a 112-108 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.

Owners of the Western Conference's best record at 12-3, the Warriors moved to 3-0 in the NBA Cup's West Group C bracket to become the first team of this year's in-season tournament to advance to the knockout stage.

Stephen Curry contributed 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists to Golden State's fifth win in its last six games overall.

New Orleans lost for the fourth straight time and fell to 4-13 while continuing to deal with injuries to several key players. Trey Murphy paced the depleted Pelicans with a season-high 24 points, while Jeremiah Robinson-Earl posted 19 points and 12 rebounds off the bench.

Despite their short-handed roster, the Pelicans held a 63-62 lead at half-time behind Murphy's 15 points and trailed by just one point early in the fourth quarter before the Warriors began to assume control.

Golden State briefly pulled away via a 12-3 run, capped by back-to-back baskets by Trayce Jackson-Davis, to claim a 99-89 advantage with under 6 1/2 minutes left.

The Pelicans would not go away, however, as Murphy ended an 8-2 spurt with a 3-pointer that cut the Warriors' lead to 110-108 with 14 seconds remaining.

Murphy misfired on another 3-point try in the final seconds, however, before Golden State's Draymond Green sealed the outcome by hitting two of four late free throws. 

The Dallas Mavericks withstood blowing a big lead and a triple-double by Nikola Jokić in the reigning NBA MVP's return to the court to come through with a hard-earned 123-120 road win over the Denver Nuggets on Friday.

Dallas also overcame the absence of superstar Luka Dončić, out with a sprained wrist, to extend its winning streak to four games. Naji Marshall provided the Mavs their biggest lift by recording a career-high 26 points off the bench on 11-of-15 shooting, while P.J. Washington made an impact as well with 22 points and 13 rebounds.

Jokic was back after missing three games due to a personal matter and racked up 33 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists while helping Denver take a late lead in a game it trailed by 24 points in the third quarter.

The Nuggets charged back to grab a 113-108 advantage with three minutes left, but Dallas put forth a late rally of its own to move back ahead.

Washington scored five straight points to pull the Mavericks even, and Quentin Grimes hit two free throws before Washington struck again with a layup that put Dallas up 117-113 with 49.7 seconds to go.

Denver closed the gap to a point on two occasions in the final minute, but couldn't regain the lead and was dealt a third loss in four games. Washington's two free throws with 3.8 seconds remaining gave Dallas a 123-120 edge before the Nuggets turned the ball over in the last stages.

Kyrie Irving scored 13 of his 19 points during a big second quarter that helped the Mavericks build a 73-53 half-time lead after outscoring the Nuggets by a 40-22 margin for the period.

Dallas led by 19 points just over four minutes into the second half before the Nuggets reversed momentum with an 18-2 run, capped by Jokic's short jumper with 3:29 left in the third quarter, to close within 83-80.

The Mavericks moved to 2-1 in the West's Group C bracket with Friday's win, while the Nuggets fell to 1-2 in group play. 

Hobbled 76ers rally past Nets to end losing streak

Jared McCain scored 30 points and helped spark a second-half comeback that carried the injury-plagued Philadelphia 76ers to a needed 113-98 win over the Brooklyn Nets.

Playing without ailing stars Joel Embiid and Paul George, Philadelphia still managed to stop a five-game losing streak and rally from a nine-point third-quarter deficit behind McCain and Tyrese Maxey. McCain had 14 fourth-quarter points and 21 in the second half, while Maxey tallied 16 of his 26 points after half-time in his second game back from a strained hamstring.

The duo went a combined 15 of 24 from the field over the final two quarters to lead the 76ers to just their third win in 15 games this season.

Embiid and George are both dealing with knee injuries and will also miss Sunday's game against George's former team, the Los Angeles Clippers.

Brooklyn lost for the sixth time in eight games despite a season-high 37 points from Cameron Johnson, who tied a career best with nine made 3-pointers in 13 attempts. 

The Nets trailed 53-50 at half-time but hit four 3-pointers during a 14-0 run that gave them a 64–55 lead three minutes into the third quarter.

Philadelphia answered shortly afterward with an 18-4 spurt, with Maxey scoring seven points during the surge, to take a 77-72 advantage later in the period.

The Nets fought back and went back ahead when Johnson's 3-pointer gave them a 90-89 edge with 7:25 left, but the 76ers responded with a 16-4 run to take the lead for good. Maxey had nine points during the flurry, with McCain adding seven.

Both teams are now 1-2 in the NBA Cup's East Group A bracket.

Warriors become first team to reach NBA Cup knockout stage

Andrew Wiggins' season-high 30 points helped the Golden State Warriors clinch a spot in the NBA Cup's knockout round by holding on for a 112-108 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.

Owners of the Western Conference's best record at 12-3, the Warriors moved to 3-0 in the NBA Cup's West Group C bracket to become the first team of this year's in-season tournament to advance to the knockout stage.

Stephen Curry contributed 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists to Golden State's fifth win in its last six games overall.

New Orleans lost for the fourth straight time and fell to 4-13 while continuing to deal with injuries to several key players. Trey Murphy paced the depleted Pelicans with a season-high 24 points, while Jeremiah Robinson-Earl posted 19 points and 12 rebounds off the bench.

Despite their short-handed roster, the Pelicans held a 63-62 lead at half-time behind Murphy's 15 points and trailed by just one point early in the fourth quarter before the Warriors began to assume control.

Golden State briefly pulled away via a 12-3 run, capped by back-to-back baskets by Trayce Jackson-Davis, to claim a 99-89 advantage with under 6 1/2 minutes left.

The Pelicans would not go away, however, as Murphy ended an 8-2 spurt with a 3-pointer that cut the Warriors' lead to 110-108 with 14 seconds remaining.

Murphy misfired on another 3-point try in the final seconds, however, before Golden State's Draymond Green sealed the outcome by hitting two of four late free throws. 

Michael Malone is running out of superlatives for Nikola Jokic, who the Denver Nuggets coach labelled "the best player in the world".

Jokic posted a triple-double of 37 points, 15 assists and 18 rebounds as the Nuggets claimed a 122-120 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday. He is the first player in NBA history to finish with that stat line.

The Nuggets needed a last-gasp mid-range jumper from Michael Porter Jr. to clinch their fifth straight win, though Jokic's performance rightly stole the show.

It was Jokic's fourth straight triple-double. The Serbian is averaging 29.7 points per game this season, the fourth-highest PPG average in the NBA, while his 13.7 rebounds and 11.7 assists per game are league-highs.

Speaking to the press after the game, Malone quipped: I would assume that after tonight's performance, he'll only be fifth in the MVP voting.

"He just needs to do more for us, because clearly what he’s been doing hasn't been noticed by anyone on the outside of this Rocky Mountain empire.

"But, 37-15-18, three steels, the minutes that he played – 38 is a good number, I'm happy about that, we kept him under 40.

"On a serious note, just incredible. We're all running out of words, adjectives and ways to describe his greatness and his impact.

"The simple way to say it is he’s the best player in the world. That's the best way to say it, in my opinion."

Jokic has won the NBA's MVP award in three of the past four seasons.

The Mavericks, meanwhile, have now lost four of their last six games.

Kyrie Irving top-scored with 43 points, while Luka Doncic added 24, but it was not enough for Dallas to get back on track following a defeat to the Phoenix Suns.

Nikola Jokic accepted blame for the Denver Nuggets' dramatic collapse to the Minnesota Timberwolves, whose late surge saw them win 119-116.

Jokic's contribution of 26 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds put Denver up 116-109, after he had scored two free throws with two minutes and 30 seconds left.

But the visitors surmounted a comeback, and the Serbian missed the chance to bring the scores level at 119-119 with 2.3 seconds left on the clock.

The result leaves the Nuggets languishing near the bottom of the Western Conference with just two wins from their opening five matches, and Jokic took responsibility for his poor showing.

"We had 10 or eight points in the last, I don't know how many minutes. We didn't execute, I missed basically all of my shots in the last two or three minutes," he reflected.

"They scored easily, they had open looks. This defeat is on me. I need to do a better job of getting guys involved.

"Today, I didn't do a good job. I had a turnover, I missed two turnaround jumpers, so it was a bad sequence for me."

The Nuggets had started to put a run of form together with wins over the Brooklyn Nets and Toronto Raptors in their previous two matches, but will now face Utah Jazz feeling they need a win now more than ever.

The Timberwolves will be leaving far happier, with Anthony Edwards scoring 29 points during the victory. The guard credited the rivalry between the two teams for the grandstand finish.

"They know when they see us, they don't like us, and I'm pretty sure they know we don't like them,” Edwards said. "It's always a great game. I love going against those guys. Plus, they have got the best player in the league, so I look forward to it."

Darius Garland scored 25 points, Donovan Mitchell added 22 and the Cleveland Cavaliers improved to 6-0 with a 120-109 victory Friday night over the Orlando Magic, who played their first game without injured All-Star Paolo Banchero.

The Cavs are the only unbeaten team in the Eastern Conference. The last time Cleveland started 6-0 was in 2016 with LeBron James when it lost to Golden State in the NBA Finals. The club's best start was 8-0 in 1976.

The early meeting between Orlando and Cleveland was a rematch of last season's tense opening-round playoff series won by the Cavs in seven games.

Banchero is expected to miss at least a month - and maybe longer - with a torn right oblique. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 draft was on an early tear, averaging 29 points with 8.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists before getting hurt Wednesday.

Orlando's Jalen Suggs scored a career-high 28 points and had eight rebounds and seven assists. Franz Wagner had 17 points.

The Magic hung around and were still within 10 late in the third quarter, when Cavs reserves Caris LeVert, Sam Merrill and Georges Niang all made 3-pointers in the final 2:17 to give Cleveland a 17-point lead going to the fourth.

Cleveland improved to 30-7 in Mitchell's last 37 regular-season games since January.

Thunder roll past Blazers to stay unbeaten

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30 points in 28 minutes and the Oklahoma City Thunder remained perfect with a 137-114 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Jalen Williams added 22 points for the Thunder and Cason Wallace and Aaron Wiggins each had 13 off the bench as Oklahoma City improved to 5-0.

Jerami Grant led Portland with 17 points and Deandre Ayton added 14.

After the Blazers came back from down 17 to tie the game at 68 at the half, Oklahoma City outscored the Blazers 38-17 in the third quarter and Portland was never able to get back in it.

Wolves edge Nuggets in thriller

Anthony Edwards hit a go-ahead 7-foot floater with 25.7 seconds left, and Rudy Gobert iced the game with two free throws to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves past the Denver Nuggets 119-116.

Edwards scored 29 points, Gobert had 17 points and 14 rebounds and Julius Randle added 23 points and seven assists for the Timberwolves, who recovered from a 25-3 fourth-quarter run by the Nuggets.

Nikola Jokić had 26 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds and hit two free throws with 2:30 left to put Denver up 116-109, before Minnesota roared back. Jokic had a chance to tie the game at 119, but Gobert forced an errant corner 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds to go.

Aaron Gordon led the Nuggets with 31 points and 11 rebounds in a rematch of last season's Western Conference semifinal.

Michael Porter Jr. added 26 points for the Nuggets, who lost point guard Jamal Murray to the concussion protocol in the third quarter after colliding with Randle.

Christian Braun dunked over the 7-foot-1 Gobert with 5:14 left and got even closer to his face with a taunting scream that egged Gobert into grabbing Braun by the neck. The benches cleared, shouts were exchanged, and both players got a technical.

Nikola Jokic was in jubilant mood after inspiring the Denver Nuggets' second straight overtime win in the NBA this season.

Coming off the back of an overtime victory against the Toronto Raptors at the Scotiabank Arena, the Nuggets did it again to beat the Brooklyn Nets 144-139 on Tuesday.

Jokic's display saw him become the first player with multiple triple-doubles and multiple 40-point games within his first four matches of a season in NBA history. 

The Serbian finished the game with 29 points, 18 rebounds and 16 assists but, when speaking to local TV after the game, said that he was just happy to win.

"We were fighting," he said, when asked about how they ground out the victory.

"We're still not playing the way we're supposed to play, but we're finding a way to win games.

"I think that's the most important thing right now, just to find a way to win a game."

While Jokic made a triple-double, he was one of four players on the Nuggets roster who finished with 20 points or more and one of six who got into double figures.

One of those was Russell Westbrook, who made 22 points in 21 minutes on the court.

"Russ was really amazing, in the third or fourth quarter, I don't know, he kept us in the game. 

"He was really good, pushing the pace and made a couple of shots, he was really good today.

"We shared the ball, we found the open guys and that's how we scored a lot."

Westbrook is a relatively new arrival at the Nuggets, having only joined the team in July from the Los Angeles Clippers.

But according to Jokic, he has been a welcome addition to the roster.

"He's always talking, he's always lifting the guys up, he's always pushing the guys. He's a really good teammate and it's good to have him on our team."

Michael Malone praised the Denver Nuggets' character as they came from behind to defeat the Toronto Raptors for their first victory of the NBA season.

The Nuggets appeared set to begin the campaign with three successive losses, as they trailed by 15 points in the third quarter at Scotiabank Arena.

However, they battled back with Jamal Murray's last-gasp layup off a feed from Nikola Jokic, who registered 40 points and 10 rebounds, forcing overtime at 114-114, before going on to record a 127-125 win.

And Malone acknowledged the stakes were high following his side's difficult start to the season.

"It feels great to get a win after the first two [losses] at home," he told reporters during his post-match press conference.

"What I'm most proud about is the way we finished regulation [time], a 13-3 run. It shows the guys just never quit, they kept on fighting, they kept on competing, they kept on believing in themselves and their team-mates.

"In overtime, we got off to a great start; I thought the defence was really good. This felt like a playoff game in game three of the season."

On the game-tying play that forced overtime, he added: "We know that we have the best post-up player in the world [in Jokic]. Let's play through him; let him make the right read.

"And obviously him and Jamal kind of playing off of each other. Jamal makes a hell of a finish with the reverse layup. Everything worked out in our favour."

Nikola Jokic suggested a novel way to try and get the Denver Nuggets firing after a stuttering start to the NBA season continued against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Superstar Jokic put up a hugely impressive 41 points but was unable to help the Nuggets to victory as the Clippers ran out 109-104 victors at the Ball Arena on Saturday.

It means the Nuggets have started the season 0-2 and Jokic was asked what the team could do differently to get things going.

He jokingly replied: "Party every time when we go out."

Jokic would later follow up with a more substantive answer, though, saying: "I really don't know, my friend. 

"We just want to win. We just want to win one game and uh, hopefully, we can do that on this road.

"I think we're really struggling to score. We scored 104 points. In today's NBA, I think that’s not a really good number. Last game, we scored 89 [actually 87]. I don't even know."

The Nuggets will attempt to get on the win column when they visit the Toronto Raptors on Monday.

Nikola Jokic played a starring role as Serbia put their Olympic semifinal disappointment behind them to clinch the bronze medal with a 93-83 win over Germany.

Serbia gave up a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter against the United States on Thursday as they narrowly missed out on a place in the final, but they responded strongly to ensure they did not leave Paris empty-handed.

Jokic was dominant in that game, and he provided the spark once more on Saturday as he finished with a triple-double, getting 19 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists.

Vasilije Micic matched Jokic's tally of 19, while Bogan Bogdanovic, the program's all-time leading scorer, added 16.

After a promising start to the Olympics by Germany, they have trailed off in recent matches, and they struggled to match the early pace set by Serbia as they fell 30-21 behind in the first quarter.

Though they matched Serbia evenly in the second quarter, any hopes of getting their hands on their first Olympic basketball medal soon faded in the third, with the 19-point gap proving too much for them to turn over.

Serbia claimed their first medal in the Olympic event since earning silver in Rio 2016.

The United States launched a thrilling comeback to reach the basketball gold medal match at the Paris Olympics with a 95-91 win over Serbia, as Stephen Curry starred with 36 points.

Team USA – who have won gold at the last four editions of the Olympics – looked set to miss out on Saturday's final when Serbia entered the fourth quarter with a 13-point lead.

NBA MVP Nikola Jokic had 17 points and 11 assists for Serbia, who led by as many as 17 points at one stage in the first half.

Bogdan Bogdanovic had 20 points for Serbia while Aleksa Avramovic had 15, but Serbia were unable to hold on and avenge their 110-84 loss to the USA in the group stage.

Golden State Warriors star Curry carried the USA's offense for most of the game, though it was LeBron James' driving layup that tied the contest at 84-84 with under four minutes remaining.

The USA struggled defensively for long periods but finally began to put real pressure on Serbia late in the fourth quarter, and a missed 3-pointer from Ognjen Dobric with Serbia 86-84 up proved decisive.

Curry put the USA ahead with a 3-point jumper on a James assist with two minutes and 24 seconds left, then layups from both players stretched their lead as Serbia wilted. 

Twice Serbia drew within two points in the final minute, only for two Curry free throws to seal the USA's victory with eight seconds on the clock.

They will face hosts France – led by NBA Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama – in Saturday's gold medal match, after Serbia face Germany for bronze.

James added 12 rebounds and 10 assists to his 16 points to finish with a triple-double, while USA team-mate Joel Embiid brought up 19 points.

Serbia completed the biggest comeback in Olympic basketball history as they defeated Australia 95-90 in overtime.

Nikola Jokic had 21 points as Serbia overturned a 24-point deficit in Tuesday's quarter-final tie.

Adding to his points tally, Jokic also registered 14 rebounds and eight assists. Team-mate Bogdan Bogdanovic was also on form and finished with 17 points, five rebounds, and six assists.

While Australia had led by 24 points after 13 minutes, a stellar third quarter from Serbia saw them rally to lead.

Tokyo 2020 bronze medallists Australia edged the fourth quarter to force the first overtime of the competition at 78-78 but Jokic's Serbia proved too strong in OT.

They will face either the reigning Olympic champions United States or Brazil in the semis.

On the other side of the draw, Germany overcame Giannis Antetokounmpo's Greece 76-63 to reach their first-ever Olympic semi-finals.

The World Cup champions remain unbeaten in the competition despite Antetokounmpo's 22 points.

Franz Wagner’s 20 points helped the Germans overturn a 12-point deficit to line up a semi-final with the winner of France versus Canada.

"I think it speaks to our maturity," Wagner said. "We even talked about it at half-time, not everything's going to go perfect all the time.

"So you kind of recover from that and adjust and react. I thought we did a good job of responding."

The United States continued their quest for a fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal after securing their spot in the quarter-finals with a comfortable win over South Sudan. 

Miami Heat's Bam Adebayo starred for the 16-time champions, registering a team-high 18 points and seven rebounds in their 103-86 triumph at the Pierre Mauroy Stadium.

The USA led from the first quarter and never looked back, with 14 of Adebayo's points coming before half-time as their star-studded bench maintained their advantage. 

For South Sudan, Nuni Omot led the way with a game-high 24 points, but with a team boasting 12 NBA All-Stars, four NBA MVPs and six NBA champions, it proved too much for the Bright Stars. 

Kevin Durant (14), Anthony Edwards (13), LeBron James (12), Devin Booker (10) and Derrick White all finished in double figures to ensure there was no repeat of their close encounter with their opponents prior to the Games. 

South Sudan led the United States by 16 points in their pre-tournament fixture, but narrowly avoided a huge upset in London as they emerged 101-100 victors. 

The United States will face winless Puerto Rico in their final group game this Saturday. 

Meanwhile, in the other Group C fixture, Nikola Jokic made Olympic history as he helped Serbia ease to their biggest win at the Games following a 107-66 triumph over Puerto Rico. 

Jokic finished with 14 points, 15 rebounds, and nine assists, becoming the first player in Olympic history to record at least 10 points, 15 rebounds, and five assists in a single game.

Filip Petrusev also played his part in the victory, with Serbia knowing they must beat South Sudan in their final group game to qualify for the knockout stages.