Nikola Jokic shines with 56 points on historic Christmas Night performance

It has been a bit of a challenge for the Denver Nuggets this season at home lately. Heading into their Christmas Night game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, they actually had lost five of eight games at home.

On Thursday, it seemed the Nuggets would easily pick up the win, as they had a 92-78 lead after three quarters and a lead of 106-91 with five minutes and 54 seconds left in the game. Then the Timberwolves went on a remarkable run in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. They would outscore Denver 24-9 and force five minutes of extra time.

In the opening minutes of the extra period, it was all Minnesota. The Timberwolves actually had a 124-115 lead before the Nuggets stormed back and outscored Minnesota 27-14 to win the game 142-138. In all there were 50 points scored in a wild overtime session.

The Nuggets set the record for the most points scored in overtime (27), while star center Nikola Jokic set the NBA record for most points scored in overtime (18). The 27 points happened in three minutes and one second. Jokic generated his 18 points on two three point shots, one six point jump shot and 10 free throws.

In all, Jokic scored 56 points. The 56 points were the most points scored by a player in a game this season. Jokic was one of three players to score 55 points. The other two were James Harden and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The 56 points were the second most points Jokic has ever scored in a game. The most was 61 points in a 140-139 Nuggets double overtime loss to the Timberwolves on April 1, 2025.

On Thursday, Jokic also had a triple double for the 179th time in his career. He had 16 rebounds and 15 assists. With the win, Denver improved to 22-8 and have the third best record in the West.