Battle of the giants — Jokic outplayed his younger version and carried Denver to victory

Denver celebrates its fourth straight win against Houston, and the second this season! In a thrilling Western Conference derby, the Nuggets defeated the Texas side 128–125 (117–117), powered by yet another fantastic performance from Nikola Jokic and his 12th triple-double of the season — the 176th of his career — leaving him just five shy of Oscar Robertson.

The Serbian star waged a true one-on-one battle with Alperen Sengun and, just like a little over 20 days ago, emerged victorious. The world’s best basketball player was unlucky not to decide the game in the final second, missing a three-pointer, but Denver regrouped in overtime, played much better in the first two and a half minutes, and ultimately secured its fifth consecutive win.

When the dust settled, Jokic’s stat line read: 39 points (13/27 FG, 5/9 from three), 15 rebounds, 10 assists, two blocks, and four turnovers. Sengun was also outstanding (33 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, 14/27 shooting), but it still wasn’t enough for the Rockets to snap their losing streak against Denver.

Every late-night clash between the Serbian and the Turkish big men has been a true treat. At times, the intensity escalated as if it were a playoff game; even the commentators joined in, “adding fuel to the fire” with their excited remarks (“That was personal, that was personal”), which only confirms that a serious rivalry has been born between them — reminiscent of some of the most famous duels from the NBA’s golden eras of the 1980s and 1990s.

The final three and a half minutes of regulation were especially dramatic, with Jokic and Sengun finishing almost every possession for their teams. In that stretch, the Serbian kept Denver alive, scoring eight points, including two three-pointers. On the other end, Sengun had strong support from Kevin Durant…

The Nuggets made a big mistake in the closing moments, leading 116–115, when Nikola Jokic switched onto the red-hot Durant, while Spencer Jones was left on Sengun. The home team’s wing gave it everything, tried to hold his ground, but the Turk powered his way to the rim and scored — 117–116. With just 2.3 seconds left, Houston was on the brink of victory, but then Amen Thompson made a careless move on the inbounds, tripping Tim Hardaway, and Jamal Murray rescued the hosts at the free-throw line, sending the game into overtime.

The Nuggets opened the extra five minutes brilliantly, creating the decisive gap with a 7–0 run: four points from Murray, followed by a Spencer Jones three off a Jokic assist that sealed the triple-double. It took the Rockets nearly three minutes to score in overtime, and their chances increased further when Jokic had to go to the bench with his sixth foul at 1:23 remaining. Still, they couldn’t force a second overtime.

Sengun took responsibility, finishing the final possession with a three-point attempt — and missed. Alongside Jokic, Jamal Murray delivered a huge performance for the winners, finishing with 35 points and playing a major role in overtime. Cam Johnson and Tim Hardaway added 13 points each, while Jones scored 11. It should be noted that David Adelman was without Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun.

On the other side, Sengun had support from the aforementioned Durant (25 points), while solid contributions also came from Jabari Smith (16 points), Josh Okogie (also 16, though he faded late), Amen Thompson, and Reed Sheppard (14 apiece).