Nikola Jokic scored eight of his 35 points in overtime and finished with 15 rebounds and 10 assists, and the short-handed Denver Nuggets rallied from down 23 to beat the New Orleans Pelicans 141-135 on Saturday night.

Jokic had his 199th career triple-double in the regular season, second to Russell Westbrook, who retired with 209.

Jamal Murray scored 42 points and rookie Trevon Brazille had seven of his 17 points in overtime in his home debut for Denver, which took an early lead in overtime. His corner 3-pointer with 1:25 left in overtime gave the Nuggets a 133-129 lead.

Denver played without Cam Johnson (ankle) and Alpha Diallo (sprained wrist) and continued to be without Julian Strawther and Spencer Jones.

Trey Murphy III led New Orleans with 26 points, Dejounte Murray had 22 points and Derik Queen and Zion Williamson scored 17 each. The Pelicans have dropped their first three games under first-year coach Jamahl Mosley.

Can't count us out https://t.co/ugTshMtwTR

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) October 25, 2026

Embiid stars as 76ers remain perfect

Joel Embiid had a triple-double with LeBron James out, Jaylen Brown scored 27 points on his 30th birthday and the Philadelphia 76ers remained undefeated with a 127-116 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

James was officially ruled out with lower back pain management in the first of back-to-back games for the Sixers this weekend. He was expected to play Sunday night at home against Detroit.

Embiid had 28 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists and went 12 of 14 from the free-throw line. Tyrese Maxey scored 26 points and VJ Edgecombe had 17.

Brown hit a 3-pointer off a pass from Embiid that made it 120-114 and gave the All-Star center the triple-double. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope sank a 3 off a turnover for the nine-point lead that sent fans to their feet and ended Milwaukee's late push for the win.

JOEL EMBIID. https://t.co/CeucZPCWWX

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) October 25, 2026

Rockets fend off Hawks to stay unbeaten

Kevin Durant scored 22 points and both Reed Sheppard and Tari Eason had 19 points as the Houston Rockets beat the Atlanta Hawks 121-114.

The Hawks nearly pulled off a comeback by cutting Houston’s 20-point lead down to five in the closing moments, but Durant knocked down two three throws with 18.9 seconds remaining to push the lead back to three possessions.

The win gave Houston its first 3-0 start since 2017-18, and spoiled Atlanta's home opener after the Hawks won their first two games of the season on the road.

Seven Rockets scored in double figures. Amen Thompson posted his third consecutive double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Alperen Sengun had one of his own with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Jalen Johnson scored 26 points and tied his career high with 16 assists for the Hawks.

signing off after another dub https://t.co/clQGoslJ4b

— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) October 25, 2026