Jokic has triple-double, Nuggets top Celtics after rim delay

By MIKE CRANSTON
Associated Press

DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic had 30 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists, and the hot-shooting Denver Nuggets beat the Boston Celtics 123-111 in a matchup of NBA conference leaders that was delayed about 35 minutes because a powerful dunk bent one of the rims. Denver won for the 10th time in 12 games, snapped a six-game skid against Boston and opened a one-game lead in the Western Conference. Jaylen Brown scored 30 points and Jayson Tatum added 25 for the Celtics, who had their four-game winning streak snapped. The Nuggets led by as many as 18 and waited out a long delay with 6:43 left as a crew struggled to re-level the rim after a dunk by Boston’s Robert Williams III.