Nikola Jokic scored 29 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists, while Christian Braun added 17. The Denver Nuggets defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 128-103 on Monday night.

Jokic, who left with 27 seconds remaining in the third quarter with Denver up by 21, finished two assists shy of his 23rd triple-double of the season.

“I think his mindset is he’s going to play this game, but he’s also going to enjoy trying to help some of these other guys that maybe don’t get regular minutes and to make sure we’re getting the most out of everybody’s minutes,” Michael Malone, the coach of the Denver Nuggets, said “He makes everybody better. That’s why he’s such an excellent player.”

Lamar Stevens tied a season high with 19 points for the Grizzlies. Scotty Pippen Jr. scored 17.

The Nuggets have won the last two games between the teams, both of which were played in Denver, by a combined 62 points.

“We’re trying to get the 1 seed the same way — understanding the importance of every game and understanding the importance of how big the 1 seed was for us last year,” Braun told the media. “We still approach each game in the same way. That is the good thing about this company. We strive to win each game. Guys aren’t sitting; they’re not tossing games. We are going out here to win every game. We’re playing the proper way, regardless of who is on the floor.”

Even without injured starters Jamal Murray (left ankle sprain) and Aaron Gordon (fascia strain), Denver shot 53.3% from the field and 46.9% from three. The Nuggets have improved to 15-2 since the All-Star break.

Reggie Jackson tallied 15 points and eight assists for Denver. Peyton Watson came off the bench and finished with ten points and ten rebounds.

The Nuggets jumped off to a 16-6 lead 4:20 into the game, which they extended to 18 in the first quarter. In the first quarter, Jokic scored 16 points, four rebounds, and three assists.

Memphis trailed by 25 at halftime but trimmed the deficit to 15 with 5:48 left in the third quarter. However, following a brief timeout by Malone, the Nuggets went on a 14-2 run, ending any realistic prospects of a comeback.

“Tonight we caught a break with them having so many guys out, but we took advantage of it,” Malone told reporters. “We didn’t mess around with the game.”

The reigning NBA champion Nuggets lead the Western Conference, one game ahead of idle Oklahoma City. The Grizzlies, meantime, dropped to 24-48 in a difficult season in which they have been without their franchise player, guard Ja Morant, for all but nine games and their big summer addition, Marcus Smart, since January 9.

“Obviously, we’ve fallen quite a bit throughout this season, but the spirit of this group has been great,” Taylor Jenkins, the team’s coach, said. “I just leaned into it. What chances do we have as a coaching staff to improve, as well as the players, individually and collectively? The conversation has been terrific about what we can build on for the rest of the season and next year.”