Jokic stars as Nuggets escape with win over Rockets

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.

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 consecutive contest.

Gordon scored six straight 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."

Barton tallied 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists for Denver, which 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 move ahead 27-26, and then expanded its lead to 41-33 with 4:51 left in the half.

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."