Nikola Jokic had 30 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists as the Denver Nuggets beat the Boston Celtics 123-111 on Sunday night in a matchup between the NBA conference leaders that was delayed due to a problem with one of the boards.
Jokic made 10 of 13 shots from the field and made all eight of his free throws for his second straight triple-double and ninth of the season. Bruce Brown added 21 points for the Nuggets, who shot 57% from the field and made 17 of 30 3-point attempts.
Denver won for the 10th time in 12 games, ending a six-game losing streak against Boston to open a one-game lead in the Western Conference.
The Nuggets led by as much as 18 points and waited a long time with 6:43 left in the game because a group of workers had trouble leveling the rim of a basket after a dunk by Boston’s Robert Williams III. .
It took six workers, two ladders, a level, cell phone calls, and eventually a team member to finally remove the ring from the backboard to repair it.
The players were allowed a brief warm-up before play resumed, and the Nuggets pulled away.
For the Celtics, the Dominican Al Horford played 30 minutes, in which he had eight points, three assists and six boards.
