Photo: Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, right, drives past Portland Trail Blazers guard Jrue Holiday, left, in the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, March 22, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic recorded his 35th triple-double of the season and both he and Jamal Murray scored 22 points Sunday when the Denver Nuggets celebrated the return of Peyton Watson by cooling off the Portland Trail Blazers 128-112.

Jokic had 22 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists. Cam Johnson added 19 points as the Nuggets stopped Portland's three-game winning streak, all on the road.

Deni Avdija led the Trail Blazers with 23 points and Donovan Clingan added 18 for Portland, which never led in the last of a five-game trip.

Watson, who hadn't played since Feb. 4 due to a hamstring injury, scored 14 points in just under 20 minutes. He was one of seven Nuggets to score in double figures.

The 6-foot-8 guard was averaging almost 15 points when he got hurt six weeks ago, and coach David Adelman said before tip-off that the minutes of his “high-level wing defender” and precision passer will be restricted as he works his way back into the rotation.

Both teams were torrid to start the matinee with each shooting 7 for 10 from 3-point range in the first six-plus minutes and both the Blazers and Nuggets hitting better than 70% of their shots.

Murray and Johnson both hit four 3-pointers for Denver before halftime, and Clingan did the same for Portland, which trailed 75-69 at the break.

The Nuggets began to pull away when Jokic, Aaron Gordon (15 points) and Johnson all swished 3s during an 11-0 run that gave Denver an 88-74 lead midway through the third quarter.

Jokic turned the ball over five times — half the number he had in a loss at Memphis on Wednesday night.

Up next

Trail Blazers: Return home to host the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night.

Nuggets: Visit the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night.

Avalanche beat Capitals in OT after Alex Ovechkin scores his 1,000th NHL goal counting playoffs

WASHINGTON (AP) — Alex Ovechkin scored his 1,000th career NHL goal combining the regular season and playoffs, but the league-leading Colorado Avalanche beat the Washington Capitals 3-2 in overtime on Sunday.

Ovechkin's goal, his 26th of the season, came from his traditional spot on the power play and tied the score with 5:43 left in regulation. He extended his career record to 923, nearly a year since passing Wayne Gretzky for the most in league history.

Gretzky has NHL 1,016 goals: 894 in the regular season and 122 in the playoffs, the latter being a record the “Great One” still holds.

U.S. Olympic gold medal winner Brock Nelson scored 82 seconds into 3-on-3 OT off a pass from Martin Necas, his 32nd goal of the season. Gabriel Landeskog and Nicolas Roy scored earlier for the Avalanche, who have won back-to-back games and on Friday became the first team this season to clinch a playoff spot.

Justin Sourdif also scored for the Capitals, whose two-game winning streak came to an end. It was Sourdif's 14th goal of his first season with Washington following a late-June trade from back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Florida.

Colorado's Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 20 of the 22 shots he faced to earn his 20th win of the season. Logan Thompson made 21 saves in the loss for Washington, which has three teams between it and the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Capitals forward Ethen Frank suffered a lower-body injury in the first period, crashing into the net following a shove from Devon Toews. Frank skated off under his own power, went directly to the locker room and did not return.

Up next

Avalanche: Continue their four-game road trip at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night.

Capitals: Kick off a three-game road swing at the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night

Rockies reliever RJ Petit will miss this season after having Tommy John surgery

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Colorado Rockies reliever RJ Petit will miss this season after he had Tommy John surgery with an internal brace.

The operation was performed by Dr. Keith Meister on Friday in Dallas, according to MLB.com.

The Rockies selected the 6-foot-8 Petit with the first pick in last year’s Rule 5 draft.

The 26-year-old Petit was taken by the Tigers in the 14th round of the 2021 amateur draft. He went 10-2 with a 2.44 ERA in two starts and 45 relief appearances last season for Double-A Erie and Triple-A Toledo. He struck out 79 and walked 22 in 66 1/3 innings.

Petit is 21-15 with a 3.40 ERA and 14 saves in five starts and 182 relief appearances over five minor league seasons, but he has yet to make his big league debut.