Nikola Jokic triple-double leads Denver to victory against Boston

Nikola Jokic recorded a triple-double to help the Denver Nuggets overcome the Boston Celtics in a 96-92 victory at the Pepsi Center.

However, the match was overshadowed by a neck injury sustained by Boston star Kemba Walker, who was taken to a local hospital with “with concussion-like symptoms” according to the team’s official Twitter account, before rejoining the Celtics on their journey back from Denver.

Walker jolted his neck during a collision with team-mate Semi Ojeleye with 3.13 left in the second quarter but Boston could not stop falling to the third defeat in their last four games.

Jokic scored 18 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists to help the the Nuggets to their fourth successive win, with Jamal Murray pouring in 22 points for Denver and Jaylen Brown top-scoring with 22 for the Celtics.

The Los Angeles Clippers secured their fourth straight win, beating Houston Rockets 122-119, as Kawhi Leonard hit a tough mid-range bucket with 15 seconds remaining to finish with 24 points.

Russell Westbrook missed at the other end and Paul George got the rebound while getting fouled before making both free throws with one second left. The Clippers have improved to 10-1 at home.

The Los Angeles Lakers won their sixth straight game with a hard-fought 130-127 victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder to go 13-2 and stay top of the Western Conference.

Lakers forward Anthony Davis scored 33 points, 24 in the second half, and also had 11 rebounds and seven assists, while Thunder have now lost five of their last six.

The Miami Heat extended their winning run in the Eastern Conference by cruising to a 116-108 victory on the road against the Chicago Bulls.

Jimmy Butler top-scored for the Heat with 27 points, including five rebounds and seven assists, while Bam Adebayo finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds to notch his eighth double-double of the season.

Reigning Rookie of the Year Luka Doncic led the Dallas Mavericks’ 143-101 rout of the Cleveland Cavaliers, who crashed to their sixth straight defeat.

Doncic finished with 30 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds in just 28 minutes of action and Kristaps Porzingis added 17 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots.

Elsewhere, the Utah Jazz overcame the Golden State Warriors 113-109, the Detroit Pistons beat the Atlanta Hawks 128-103 and the Washington Wizards won 125-118 against the Charlotte Hornets.

The Brooklyn Nets ran out 116-97 winners against the Sacramento Kings and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the San Antonio Spurs 115-104.