Nikola Jokic hits triple-double as Denver Nuggets beat Milwaukee Bucks in Doc Rivers' debut as head coach

Nikola Jokic grabbed his 14th triple-double of the season as the Denver Nuggets beat the Milwaukee Bucks in Doc Rivers’ first game as head coach.

Rivers has taken over the Bucks following the decision to sack Adrian Griffin last week.

His first game against the defending NBA champions saw Giannis Antetokounmpo net 29 points and Damian Lillard 18 for the Bucks, but it was Jokic who decided the contest with 25 points, 16 rebounds and 12 assists in a 113-107 win.

Jokic now has 119 triple-doubles in regular-season matches, which is the fourth-highest total in NBA history.

Despite the defeat, Rivers said: “Overall I was very happy.

"That fight is there. That's something really encouraging moving forward."

The Bucks are second in the Eastern Conference with a 32-15 record, while the 33-15 Nuggets are in the same position in the Western Conference.

Another clash between two high-flying teams saw the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 107-101.

Both sides went into the game with 32-14 records and there were 24 leads changes before a 34-24 fourth-quarter run saw the Timberwolves win.

Anthony Edwards led the scoring for the Western Conference leaders with 27 points.

"We did a really good job of finishing this game, which we haven't been doing recently," said Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch.

"Hopefully we can build on it."

Eastern Conference leaders the Boston Celtics improved to 36-11 for the season as they won 118-112 against the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Pelicans were up by 17 points in the second quarter but the Celtics hit back, helped by a strong fourth-quarter showing from Derrick White.

"Things weren't going well for us for most of the game, but we stuck together," said White.

"When things aren't going well it's good to get a win.

"It's not always going to be perfect. We just got to find new ways to win each and every game, and we did that today."

Luka Doncic finished with 45 points, 15 assists and nine rebounds as the Dallas Mavericks came from 16 points down to beat the Orlando Magic 131-129.

Tim Hardaway Jr also added 36 points as the Mavericks went on a 24-7 run in the third quarter to turn the game around.

The Los Angeles Lakers lost 135-119 to the Houston Rockets.

Jalen Green scored 34 points for the Rockets while LeBron James, Anthony Davis and D’Angelo Russell all grabbed 23 points apiece for the Lakers.

James was knocked to the court late in the game after being in the face by Dillon Brooks as they fought for a rebound.

Brooks was called for a flagrant foul 1 and James stayed in the game.

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