Nuggets top Pistons to end skid, clinch Northwest Division

DETROIT (AP)— The Denver Nuggets have been so dominant this season that they’veclinched the Northwest Division with a few weeks left in theregular season.

Nikola Jokicdeferred to teammates early before looking for his shot andfinished with 30 points to help the Nuggetsbeat the DetroitPistons 119-100 on Thursday night and end a season-high four-gamelosing streak.

“This has tobe a building block,” Denver coach Michael Malone said. “I told ourteam, it’s a good win. Clinched a playoff spot. Won your division.That’s great. Let this be the start of something special. We lostfour in a row, lowest of the low for us during this season. Now,let’s get back to playing and go on a run.”

KentaviousCaldwell-Pope scored 20 points, Jamal Murray had 19 and AaronGordon 15 for the Western Conference-leading Nuggets.

Jokic,the two-time reigning NBA MVP,had three assists and three rebounds before his first attemptseveral minutes into the game and finished 14 of 18 from the fieldwith 10 rebounds and nine assists.

Theshort-handed Pistons were competitive for three quarters, leadingby as many as seven points in a game with 16 lead changes and 10ties. The Nuggets picked up their intensity on defense in thefourth, and pulled away easily to lead by double digits midwaythrough the quarter.

“Achampionship team is going to turn up their energy,” Detroit coachDwane Casey said. “We talked about that during the timeout. Wedidn’t respond, and that’s part of our growth.”

RodneyMcGruder scored 20 for the Pistons, who have lost 12 of 13 gamesand have the NBA’s worst record. Detroit rookies Jalen Duren had 15points and 13 assists, while Jaden Ivey added 14 points and sixassists.

TIP-INS

Nuggets:Jokic was an assist away from a triple-double. The 7-foot center,who often plays like a point guard, has an league-high 27triple-doubles to nearly triple the rest of the league leaders inthe category. ... With the win, Denver is .500 on the road. ... TheNuggets have won the division for the third time in five seasons,and they finished in second place the other two years.

Pistons: Thebanged-up team was missing many injured players: Marvin Bagley III,Bojan Bogdanovic, Alec Burks, Hamidou Diallo and Isaiah Livers,along with Cade Cunningham,who had season-ending shin surgerythree months ago.

“They havenot been winning games, but they’ve been playing hard with the guysthey have available,” Malone said.

ON DIN THE D

Denverlimited Detroit to 14 points in the fourth quarter after giving upan average of 117 points over the previous three games.

“It alwaysstarts with our offense,” Malone said. “When we’re turning the ballover, it makes it really hard to defend.

“When we’renot aggressive and we’re not physical, it’s like a layup line outthere.”

HESAID IT

Casey saidJokic reminds him of Hall of Famer Larry Bird.

“He doesn’tget in a hurry, and you can’t rush or speed him up,” Casey said.“He gets to where he wants to go by taking his time, using hisbody, angles, pass fakes.

“He’s not themost athletic guy in the world, but he gets exactly where he wantsto go when he wants to get there.”

Jokic has ashot to be the first player since Bird to win three straight NBAMVP awards. The former Boston Celtics superstar pulled off the featin the mid 1980s.

UPNEXT

Nuggets: Stayon the road for third of five-game trip to face the New York Knickson Saturday afternoon.

Pistons: HostMiami on Sunday night.