Murray scores 37, Jokic has 16 assists as Nuggets cruise to 131-114 win over Pistons
DENVER (AP) — Jamal Murray scored a season-high 37 points, Nikola Jokic had 16 assists and the Denver Nuggets handed the Pistons their 18th straight road loss by rolling past Detroit 131-114 on Sunday night.
Murray followed an off-shooting game against Orlando on Friday with a bounce-back one, hitting 14 of 24 shots from the floor. He also was 6 of 7 from the free throw line.
Jokic was more distributor and shot blocker than scorer, taking just three shots and finishing with four points. The two-time NBA MVP tied a career high with five blocked shots in between setting teammates up for easy buckets around the rim. He had a chance at his career high of 18 assists, but didn't play in the fourth quarter with the game in hand.
The Pistons fell to 1-19 away from home, with their lone road win on Oct. 27 at Charlotte.
Jalen Duren led Detroit with 20 points, while Alec Burks added 18. Cade Cunningham had three points before leaving midway through the second quarter with a strained left knee.
Denver won the last matchup with Detroit 107-103 on Nov. 21 in a game where both Jokic and coach Michael Malone were ejected for arguing. Jokic picked up another technical Sunday for what was deemed a flop. He exaggerated the contact when he took a push out on the wing in the third quarter.
Soon after, Peyton Watson took a shove from Ausar Thompson while running down the floor. Watson got up angry, but was restrained by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Officials called Thompson for a flagrant foul.
It was a productive third quarter for Denver as the team outscored the Pistons by a 43-28 margin to take control of the game. That was a departure from the last two games in which Denver struggled coming out of intermission.
Michael Porter Jr. and Caldwell-Pope each had 18 points for a Nuggets team that moved to 18-0 this season against teams below .500. The Pistons fell to 0-19 versus teams above .500.
The Pistons dropped their fourth straight game. This skid comes on the heels of ending their NBA record-tying 28-game losing streak against Toronto on Dec. 30.
UP NEXT
Pistons: Begin a three-game homestand Tuesday against Sacramento.
Nuggets: At Utah on Wednesday.
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