Monday's NBA: Jokic's parade to free-throw line draws ire of Warriors coach Kerr
Denver — Nikola Jokic's frequent parade to the free-throw line was a sore subject for Steve Kerr.
The Golden State coach doesn't feel like defense gets rewarded consistently enough in today's NBA.
Jokic overcame an off day from the field by going 18-of-18 from the free-throw line and the Denver Nuggets extended their winning streak to five games by holding off the Warriors 120-114 on Monday.
Jokic finished with 26 points despite a 4-of-12 showing from the floor. He set a career-high with his 18 made free throws. In all, the Nuggets were 26 of 32 from the free-throw line.
“I have no problem with the officials themselves,” Kerr said after the game. “I have a problem with the way we are legislating defense out of the game. That’s what we’re doing. The way we’re teaching officials, we’re just enabling to players to (fool) their way to the foul line. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t have wanted to watch the second half of that game. It was disgusting.
“It was just baiting refs into calls. But the refs have to make those calls because that’s how they’re taught.”
The combination of Kevon Looney and rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis took turns trying to contain Jokic, who didn’t have his customary touch around the basket. Jokic made up for it by being more aggressive and getting to the line.
“He gets fouled a lot. He gets beat up down there,” explained Jamal Murray, who scored a game-high 28 points. “It’s hard to call every foul, I understand. They can only do so much.”
Kerr said that players are “smart in this league. Over the last decade, they’ve gotten smarter and smarter. We have enabled the players and they’re taking full advantage and it’s a parade to the free-throw line. It’s disgusting to watch.”
Stephen Curry weighed in on the topic, too.
“When there’s physicality, it’s tough because it’s inconsistent at times on either side,” said Curry, who took a bit to warm up, not scoring until midway through the second quarter, but heated up to finish with 18 points. “A night like tonight, you feel like there’s physicality on one side and then kind of ticky-tack on the other and then they get into the bonus and it changes the (complexion) of the game. It’s not like we don’t foul. I’m not saying that.
"It was tough tonight, slowed the whole game down. (Jokic) made every free throw and changed the momentum, played into their hands.”
Jokic also had 14 rebounds and eight assists.
Last Christmas, the Nuggets big man erupted for 41 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists in an overtime win over Phoenix.
All five Denver starters scored in double figures, with Michael Porter Jr. (19 points, 10 rebounds) and Aaron Gordon (16 points, 10 rebounds) both posting double-doubles.
It was a back-and-forth game that featured nine lead changes in the second half. Denver took the lead for good on Jokic's left-handed hook shot with 5:16 remaining.
“We closed the fourth and we had a lot of guys step up and make timely plays down the stretch of a close game,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “Winning makes a world of difference.”
Andrew Wiggins gave the Warriors a boost by scoring 22 points as he returned to the floor after missing two games with an illness.
Golden State played on Christmas for an 11th straight year.
The Warriors moved to 5-2 since the indefinite suspension of Draymond Green after striking Phoenix center Jusuf Nurkic in the face. Kerr said before the game that Green has mostly stayed away during his suspension. Kerr added that he has been in contact with the training staff and the coaches.
More Monday games
Boston 126, (at) L.A. Lakers 115: Kristaps Porzingis had 28 points and 11 rebounds, Jayson Tatum added 25 points and the Celtics defeated the Lakers for the first time in Christmas Day meetings.
Jaylen Brown had 19 points and Derrick White chipped in with 18 points and 11 rebounds. All five starters had at least 18 points for the Celtics, who have won three straight and 12 of their past 14.
Anthony Davis scored a game-high 40 points with 13 rebounds, LeBron James had 16 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, but the Lakers have dropped six of eight since winning the inaugural In-Season Tournament.
After trailing for the only time in the game early in the third quarter when Jarred Vanderbilt threw down a dunk, Boston ripped off seven straight points to regain the lead. Porzingis had 13 points, helping spot the Celtics a nine-point advantage going into the fourth.
Boston successfully kept Los Angeles at arm’s length in the final quarter, despite Davis hitting the 40-point mark for the 40th time in a regular season game.
The Celtics ran right over the Lakers’ starting lineup, scoring the first 12 points capped by a 3-pointer from Brown, and would lead by as many as 18 in the first quarter.
Los Angeles got back in it in the second, thanks to some hot shooting from Taurean Prince. He had 11 points making all four of his shots, including three 3’s, to cut the deficit to 58-57 at the half.
Both teams got a scare when Brown and James were shaken up in a collision with 4:02 left in the second. Brown was cutting back to the ball when he took a bad step and pulled up, leading to James kneeing him in the back. Each player was attended to on the court, with Brown going back to the locker room before returning to start the third quarter.
It was the third game on Christmas Day between the two most storied franchises in the league. The Minneapolis Lakers won in Boston in 1951, and Los Angeles was victorious in 2008.
(At) N.Y. Knicks 129, Milwaukee 122: Jalen Brunson scored 38 points and the Knicks snapped Milwaukee's seven-game winning streak.
The Knicks had dropped nine straight meetings, including a 130-111 loss on Saturday in the opener of this two-game series. The Bucks had routed New York twice while rolling through their December schedule, but they haven't solved Brunson all season, and the point guard got plenty of help from his teammates this time.
“They’re a good team. We feel like we’re a good team as well, so just kind of taking that challenge, accepting that challenge that we hadn’t got them yet,” guard Immanuel Quickley said. “It had been a while, so this was a good one to get.”
Julius Randle added 24 points and nine rebounds, RJ Barrett bounced back from a poor game Saturday with 21 points and Quickley came off the bench for 20.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard each scored 32 points for the Bucks, who fell to 9-2 this month. Khris Middleton added 24.
The Bucks rang up 146 points against the Knicks in the quarterfinals of the In-Season Tournament on Dec. 5 and didn't cool off much Saturday. But they seemed short on energy Monday in the middle of an extended Christmas stay in New York, with still another game remaining in the city when they visit Brooklyn on Wednesday.
“We knew coming in everything that we were lined up for and it is what it is,” Lillard said. “We got the first one, we came in for this one, they got off to a good start, they played a great game and we just got outplayed.”
Milwaukee came in averaging 132.4 points in December but couldn’t even break 40 until there were less than four minutes remaining in the first half. The Bucks trailed by 16 with 4 1/2 minutes remaining in the game before a late flurry that made the score closer than the game felt.
“I thought they out-competed us today for the most part,” Bucks coach Adrian Griffin said. “I thought offensively we got some good looks, but we just couldn’t knock them down. And when you’re on the road, you get clean looks, you’ve got to knock them down.”
Brunson went 15 for 28 from the field, following up games of 45 and 36 points against the Bucks this season. Isaiah Hartenstein had 11 points and eight rebounds, and Josh Hart came off the bench for 10 points and nine rebounds.
Antetokounmpo had 13 rebounds and six assists, but the Bucks fell to 3-3 in their sixth straight Christmas appearance.
The overhead video board incorrectly listed his brother Thanasis as the starter when lineups were announced, but Giannis quickly reminded everyone who he is, slamming down a lob pass on the opening possession and then making a jumper on the next trip. But Brunson was the best player on the floor the remainder of the period, scoring 15 points to spark the Knicks to a 36-27 lead after one – the same lead the Bucks had Saturday.
“I just thought the energy level was back to where it needed to be,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said.
Dallas 128, (at) Phoenix 114: Luka Doncic scored 50 points to eclipse 10,000 for his career and had 14 assists, lifting Dallas to the win over Phoenix.
Doncic capped a Christmas Day full of NBA games with a stellar performance, hitting 8 of 16 from 3 and all 12 of his free throws. He eclipsed 10,000 career points in the first quarter to reach the milestone in 358 career games, seventh fastest in NBA history.
Dereck Lively II had 20 points and 10 rebounds after missing the previous four games with an ankle sprain and Tim Hardaway Jr. added 18 points.
Phoenix’s Grayson Allen scored 19 of his 32 points in the third quarter to help the Suns rally from a 15-point deficit. Chimezie Metu added 23 points and a career-high 19 rebounds.
(At) Miami 119, Philadelphia 113: Rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 31 points and got his first double-double, Bam Adebayo finished with 26 points and 15 rebounds and Miami held on to beat Philadelphia.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra improved to 9-0 on Christmas, the best record in NBA history for head coaches on the holiday.
Tyler Herro scored 22 points, Duncan Robinson added 16 and Kyle Lowry had 12 for the Heat in what became his first Christmas win. Jaquez also grabbed 10 rebounds for Miami, which held a 56-36 edge on the boards.
Reigning MVP and two-time defending scoring champion Joel Embiid missed the game for Philadelphia because of an ankle sprain. Tobias Harris scored 27 points for the 76ers, and Kelly Oubre Jr. added 25. Mo Bamba scored 18, De’Anthony Melton had 15 and Tyrese Maxey – who shot 4 for 20 from the floor – finished with 12.