MVP Jokic sinks 43 points, but Curry grabs headlines with his shoulder

Two-time reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic scored 43 points to lead the Denver Nuggets over visiting Washington 141-128. The 27-year-old Serbian center added 14 rebounds, eight assists and four steals to spark Denver, which improved to 17-10 and only one game behind Western Conference co-leaders New Orleans and Memphis.

Bu the night in the NBA was sadly marked with an injury.

Four-time NBA champion Stephen Curry suffered a left shoulder injury late in the third quarter of reigning NBA champion Golden State's 125-119 loss at Indiana on Wednesday.

Curry, last June's NBA Finals Most Valuable Player, was hurt trying to strip the ball from Indiana's Jalen Smith as the Pacer drove to the hoop. Curry held his shoulder until leaving the game moments later and was taken quickly to the locker room. Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Curry will have an MRI exam on Thursday to determine the extent of the 34-year-old guard's injury.

Curry finished with game highs of 38 points and seven assists as well as seven rebounds. He scored 27 points in the two quarters, half of the Warriors' first half total as they trailed 74-54, and finished with his 250th career 30-point performance. Tyrese Haliburton led Indiana with 29 points while reserve Bennedict Mathurin added 24 for the Pacers.

Golden State, seeking a fifth NBA title in nine seasons, fell to 14-15 overall and 2-12 on the road. Curry has averaged 30 points a game this season and hit 50% from the floor. He also averaged 6.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.7 blocked shots a game.

Losing Curry for any length of time would be a major setback for the Warriors.

Tyler Herro scored a game-high 35 points and sank the winning jump shot with 4.9 seconds remaining to give the Miami Heat a 110-108 victory at Oklahoma City.

Damian Lillard scored 37 points to lead Portland to a 128-112 triumph at San Antonio while Donovan Mitchell scored 34 points to power the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 105-90 victory at Dallas.

Paul George managed a triple double with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists to spark the host Los Angeles Clippers over Minnesota 99-88. Kawhi Leonard added 19 points and eight rebounds for the Clippers.

New York's Jalen Brunson scored six points in overtime as the Knicks outscored Chicago 11-3 in the extra session for a 128-120 road victory.

Julius Randle led New York with 31 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists while Brunson had a season-high 30 points and DeMar DeRozan scored a game-high 32 for the Bulls.

Sacramento's De'Aaron Fox scored 27 points and passed off 10 assists while Domantas Sabonis added 21 points and 20 rebounds to lift the Kings to a 124-123 victory at Toronto.

Alec Burks came off Detroit's bench to score 27 points while Killian Hayes had 25 for the Pistons in a 141-134 victory at Charlotte.

Germany's Franz Wagner scored 24 points and Sudanese-born Bol Bol added 21 to lead the Orlando Magic over visiting Atlanta 135-124.

Wagner scored 11 points in the first quarter, when Orlando set a club record by scoring 50 points. It was one shy of the NBA first-quarter record set by Denver in 2019.

NBA

Regular season

Friday

04.00: (2.50) Houston (13.0) Miami (1.65)

05.00: (2.25) Utah (12.5) New Orleans (1.80)

****odds are subject to change