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Nuggets escape with win over Rockets, Heat cool off Jazz

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Nikola Jokic tallied 28 points and 14 rebounds and made a clutch game-saving block at the buzzer as the Denver Nuggets survived a late scare to edge the slumping Houston Rockets 95-94 on Saturday.

Nuggets escape with win over Rockets, Heat cool off Jazz
The Denver Nuggets celebrate after a last second blocked shot by Nikola Jokic #15 seals the win against the Houston Rockets at Ball Arena on November 6, 2021 in Denver, Colorado. AFP

Will Barton posted 15 points and six assists, and Aaron Gordon nailed consecutive three-pointers in the final two minutes for the Nuggets, who won their second straight NBA contest.

Gordon scored six unanswered points before Jokic iced the win with a block of a Jae'Sean Tate layup as the buzzer sounded. Earlier, Daniel Theis hit a three-pointer with 2:46 remaining to make it 94-89 for Houston.

After the block, the Nuggets celebrated with Jokic on the court.

"I didn't jump, I went up, I didn't even block it," he said. "I think I actually hit it when I was jumping. Like a poke — I poked the ball."

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Tate's initial reaction was that the officials should have called a foul on Jokic.

"I thought I got fouled, honestly," he said. "I could have stayed corner; I should have stayed corner."

Denver won despite shooting a dismal 22.5 percent from beyond the arc.

Theis returned after missing two games with a sore right toe for the Rockets, which has lost seven in a row. Christian Wood and Eric Gordon scored 12 points each.

The Rockets shot 52.6 percent in the first quarter to lead 27-26, and then expanded its lead to 41-33 with just under five minutes left in the half.

In Miami, Tyler Herro had 29 points and Jimmy Butler 27 as the host Heat used a balanced offense to win for the sixth time in their last seven by beating the Utah Jazz 118-115.

Kyle Lowry had a triple-double, including 20 points, for the Heat, who shot 60 percent from the floor overall.

Donovan Mitchell led all scorers with 37 points for the Jazz, who had a three-game winning streak stopped.

Miami took the lead for good late in the third quarter after Mitchell had tied it 74-74 with a basket with 2:40 to go.

Elsewhere, Luka Doncic made the game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer to lift the Dallas Mavericks to a 107-104 win over the Boston Celtics.

Doncic, who scored a game-high 33 points, ran the length of the court before putting up a fadeaway shot in triple coverage to seal the victory.

Damian Lillard scored 25 points and the Trail Blazers smothered the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers 105-90 in Portland.

The Lakers were missing LeBron James, who was out with an abdominal strain, and lost Anthony Davis in the first quarter with a stomach illness.

That meant they had to rely on their ageing reserves such as Carmelo Anthony, who scored 12 points off the bench.

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