NBA highlights on Feb. 9: Kings know how to beat Jokic

The Sacramento Kings beat the Denver Nuggets 135-106 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California, on Friday, ending the opponents' three-game winning streak.

Domantas Sabonis shot 7-for-9 from the field to score a triple-double of 17 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists for the Kings. Having dropped such numbers for the 16th rime this season, he beat Nikola Jokic to lead the NBA on this front. The whole team attacked in a silky way thanks to his playmaking performance.

Sabonis also did a good job of containing Jokic, not completely by himself, of course. The Lithuanian big man has never been a good defender in his career, but he has strong enough lower body to slow Jokic down in the high post. Sabonis showed remarkable defensive aggression in Friday's game by continuously attacking Jokic when he had the ball, making it difficult for him to shoot or penetrate facing the rim.

Both Sabonis and Jokic are historic orchestrators in the center position, so Sabonis could read Jokic's mind before he made his next move. Even when he wasn't guarding Jokic who managed to receive the ball in the low post, he was always able to come and double-team the "Joker" for the right timing.

As a result, Jokic got 23 points, but delivered only seven assists. He was stripped off the Nuggets' offensive machine in which he played as one of the duel-fuel engines. The Kings didn't go easy on other Nuggets, forcing a total of 19 turnovers by the rest of the team other than Jokic with their quick defensive rotations. The team's two point guards, Jamal Murray and Reggie Jackson committed six and three turnovers respectively.

De'Aaron Fox alone contributed five of the King's 11 turnovers. He didn't score a lot of points (15), but he didn't have to because the rest of the team split the offensive burden fairly and efficiently. The team had seven players reach double-digit points. The highest (23) was by Malik Monk off the bench after going 9-for-13 in field goals (FGs).

The Nuggets led by three points (35-32) in the first quarter, but they failed to stay focused on either end of the game since then. They allowed the opponents to heat up too quickly and easily from downtown. Moreover, without Kentavious Caldwell-Pope or Michael Porter Jr., the team had to attack the Kings' defense from front with a poor spacing that enabled the opponents to close in more and more on the defensive end.

Judging by how close the top race is in the Western Conference at the moment, one loss saw the Nuggets drop to the fourth place.

Other games on Friday (away teams come first):

Atlanta Hawks 127-121 Philadelphia 76ers

The Hawks avoided their third straight loss by beating the 76ers at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Trae Young scored a double-double of 37 points and 12 assists for the Hawks after draining five triples out of 12 attempts and making 12 of his 16 free throws. Saddiq Bey had a double-double as well of 18 points and 11 rebounds, including five on the offensive glass.

The 76ers lost eight of their past nine games. Their new arrivals, Buddy Hield and Cameron Payne, both made their first appearance on Friday night, scoring 20 points and six assists each and combining to knock down eight triples.

New Orleans Pelicans 122-139 Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers secured a big win at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, on Friday, as five of their players scored 20+ points. D'Angelo Russell came back after missing Thursday's loss against the Nuggets and got team-high 30 points. He, Austin Reaves and LeBron James all reached double digits in points in the second quarter, enabling the purple and gold to outscore the Pelicans 51-35 in this period.

Zion Williamson dropped team-high 30 points for the Pelicans after making 12 of his 19 FG attempts. His charging of the paint put Anthony Davis under a lot of pressure, but the Lakers survived it and limited the Pelicans to shooting 8-for-18 from the field in the final period.

Washington Wizards 129-133 Boston Celtics

Houston Rockets 104-107 Toronto Raptors

Charlotte Hornets 84-120 Milwaukee Bucks