Nikola Jokic’s historic quarter not enough, Nuggets fall to Warriors

Nikola Jokic opened Monday night with a quarter that only a handful of players have matched in nearly 30 years. It wasn't enough to beat the Golden State Warriors

BY JOEY FREEBURG

Oct 26, 2026, 10:42 PM

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Nikola Jokic opened Monday night with a quarter that only a handful of players have matched in nearly 30 years. It wasn’t enough to beat the Golden State Warriors.

Nikola Jokic powered Denver to a 32-28 lead after the first quarter at Ball Arena. In those 12 minutes, he had at least nine points, five rebounds, five assists and two blocks. Since 1996-97, that has been done only five other times, by James Harden, Rajon Rondo, Tim Duncan, Ronny Turiaf and Jokic himself.

The Nuggets couldn’t keep it going. Golden State took over after the first quarter, and Denver lost 134-114. For the second time in three games, the Nuggets went into the fourth quarter down by double digits. Golden State led 119-101 with under four minutes to play.

Jokic finished with 19 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds and three blocks, three rebounds short of his 200th regular-season triple-double. He came into the game needing one triple-double to reach 200 and 10 to tie Russell Westbrook’s regular-season record.

The loss was a letdown after Saturday’s home opener. Denver came back from a big fourth-quarter deficit to beat New Orleans in overtime, with help from rookie Trevon Brazile, and Jokic posted his first triple-double of the season in that game. The Nuggets had also been held to 84 points in the season-opening loss at Oklahoma City.

Golden State came into Monday 0-3 and short-handed. It got Stephen Curry and Draymond Green back after both sat out the second night of a back-to-back in Phoenix. The Warriors left Denver with their first win of the season.

Denver is 1-2 and still looking for consistency. The Nuggets have now played all of their first three games from behind going into the fourth quarter, and only the comeback against the Pelicans went their way. Jokic is still putting up historic numbers, but the team around him hasn’t found a rhythm yet.

The Nuggets and Nikola Jokic head to New Orleans for a rematch with the Pelicans on Wednesday, their second meeting in five days. Nikola Jokic will get another chance to reach 200 regular-season triple-doubles there.