Nikola Jokic sets franchise record for assists as Denver Nuggets defeat Timberwolves

Jan. 18—The hill to the top of the Nuggets' career assist chart just got taller.

With his seventh assist of Wednesday's game against Minnesota, Nikola Jokic passed Alex English for the most assists in franchise history. English, a 6-foot-8 forward recorded 3,679 assists in 11 seasons with the Nuggets. The 6-foot-11 point center got there in the middle of his eighth NBA season.

"That assist record is incredible. I want to give a shoutout to Alex English," acting head coach David Adelman said pregame. "I think we all talk about him in the past as a scorer, and for him to be on that list with that many assists just shows you the type of Hall of Fame player he was, because the rest of that list is just big-time point guards. So, for our center and Alex English to be at the top of that list, it says a lot about a Hall of Famer and a future Hall of Famer and what they brought to this franchise."

The rest of the top five is populated by guards. Fat Lever is third (3,566) with Andre Miller (2,978) and Ty Lawson (2,475).

The first assist of Jokic's career came on Oct. 30, 2015, another game against the Timberwolves at Ball Arena. His first assist Wednesday came in the first two minutes when he hit Jamal Murray for a transition dunk. He found Michael Porter Jr. with a mismatch in the post a minute later for his second of the night. Assist number three came midway through the first when Kentavious Caldwell-Pope cut for a layup. Bruce Brown took a handoff and drove for a layup before catching a long pass from Jokic and finished with a two-handed dunk, giving Jokic five assists nine minutes into the game.

Jokic went back to Brown in the second quarter, and Brown rewarded Jokic with a three-point play that tied the record. Jokic picked up his third foul with more than three minutes remaining in the second quarter, delaying the inevitable.

Jokic caught the Timberwolves sleeping and hit Caldwell-Pope for an uncontested dunk off an in-bounds pass to climb atop the franchise's career assist chart.

"I knew that eventually my all time assist record would be broken," English posted on his verified Twitter account.

"I'm honored to see that it's 2 time, I mean 3 time MVP of the NBA do it. Congrats big fella."

Adelman likened Jokic's passing ability to a quarterback who can step up to the line of scrimmage, detect what the opposing defense is running and adjust accordingly.

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"He just seems to be not a step ahead, a couple of steps ahead," Adelman said. "(That's) not to mention the creativity in the passes — the one-handed, the two-handed — just reading coverages. It's not normal. It's not, and I know he's tall, but he has a John Stockton kind of mind in a seven-foot body. It's incredible to watch. It's fun to coach."

NUGGETS 122, TIMBERWOLVES 118

What happened: A physical first quarter favored the Nuggets. Denver led by three to start the second quarter only for the Timberwolves to take the lead in the second. Minnesota took advantage of foul trouble for Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon in the final minutes of the second quarter and led 60-55 at halftime.

After setting the franchise record for career assists, Jokic picked up his fourth foul in the middle of the third. The Timberwolves stretched the lead to seven after three quarters.

The Nuggets closed within one in the middle of the fourth and regained the lead in the final minute. The win stretches Denver's win streak to eight games.

What went right: Jokic made Nuggets history and posted another triple-double in the process. Jokic finished with 31 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists. His dominance inside helped the Nuggets finish with a 72-54 advantage in points in the paint.

What went wrong: The Nuggets hit a few in the fourth but could hardly buy a 3-pointer in the first three quarters. The Nuggets went 1 for 5 in the first quarter and followed that with a 1-for-6 mark in the second. The Nuggets were 3-16 to start the third quarter and finished 8 for 21.

Highlight of the night: Jamal Murray stepped up when the Nuggets him most. Down 3 with just over two minutes to play, Murray stepped into a 3 and drilled it before staring down the Minnesota bench. After the teams traded turnovers, Murray drove and hit a floater to put the Nuggets in front.

On deck: The Nuggets will play their third game in four nights Friday against the Indiana Pacers at Ball Arena.