Nuggets escape with win over Rockets, Heat cool off Jazz

LOS ANGELES - 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.

  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."

  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.BSS/AFP