Nikola Jokic passes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for most assists by center in NBA history as Nuggets beat Magic
For his latest trick, Nikola Jokic dribbled into oncoming traffic and escaped unscathed.
Sometimes after he reels in a defensive rebound, the Nuggets center prefers to launch an aerial attack with one of his long outlet passes. This time, he brought the ball with him up on his usual route up the middle of the floor. Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. trailed him by a step. Up ahead, Tyus Jones veered into his lane from the left, sensing an opportunity to pick the pocket of a lumbering big man.
But Jokic is nimble. Before Jones could cut across his front side, he anticipated the attempted swipe and transferred his dribbling hand with a behind-the-back move that shouldn’t have looked so graceful. Jones whiffed. Carter caught up, but Jokic decelerated to allow him to pass. Then the newly minted best passing center of all time went behind the back again — this time, a dime to Jamal Murray, who finished the play with a lefty floater.
Denver’s stars were just showing off at that point in the third quarter of a 126-115 win over the Magic that wasn’t always so smooth-sailing. As they wandered into the huddle for a timeout, assistant coaches Ognjen Stojakovic and JJ Barea could only laugh at the skill and panache.
Leading the Nuggets to their 20th win of the season, Jokic passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most assists by a center in NBA history Thursday. All he needed was six to match Kareem’s career total of 5,660. He finished the evening with 13, to go with 23 points and 11 rebounds.
The Nuggets did most of their work during an astonishing second quarter. After sinking into their largest deficit at 47-33, they flipped the margin in their favor with a 35-7 run that only took the last 6:26 of the first half.
Denver (20-6) went on a 12-for-13 shooting stretch during that run. It started with reserve guard Jalen Pickett scoring or assisting on six straight points. It culminated with Murray banking a circus 3-pointer off the window — probably not intentionally.
But by then, anything he threw up was likely to find the bottom of the net. He made seven of Denver’s 12 shots during the run and scored 20 of his 32 points in the second quarter.
Both teams were short-handed at Ball Arena. Orlando was fending without Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs. Denver was down three of its best defenders with Peyton Watson (right trunk contusion) ruled out shortly before opening tip, joining Christian Braun and Aaron Gordon on the shelf.
In Watson’s place, Bruce Brown started his first game as a Denver Nugget since April 9, 2023. David Adelman used 10 of his 11 available players, including Julian Strawther, who was cleared to play earlier this week after missing a month with a back injury.
Adelman also tried a bit of everything with his rotation, from a four-guard lineup around Jokic to the elusive double-big look, featuring Jokic at power forward next to Jonas Valanciunas. Denver was able to get organized in a few halfcourt sets and execute a solid offense with the unorthodox configuration, which hasn’t always been the case in its limited minutes this season.
After the Nuggets made quick work of their 14-point deficit, Orlando countered with a min-comeback of its own after halftime, trimming a 21-point gap to nine at one point. But every time the Magic threatened, Denver managed to get things under control — even the second unit, which benefitted from 12 points from Tim Hardaway Jr. and 10 from Valanciunas.
The final threat came after another one of Denver’s top defenders, Spencer Jones, fouled out in the fourth quarter. Orlando narrowed it to 121-115 with 90 seconds to go.
Moments earlier during an Adelman timeout, Ball Arena had displayed a graphic commemorating Jokic’s all-time assists achievement. Those who noticed greeted the three-time MVP with a round of applause. Then he treated Denver to another beauty of an assist, responding to a double-team by firing across the court to Cam Johnson in the weak-side corner. His open 3-pointer sealed the win.
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