Jokic leads Nuggets over Heat, Mitchell sparks Cavs

Nikola Jokic narrowly missed out on his 21st triple double of the season as the Denver Nuggets battled to a 112-108 road victory over the Miami Heat on Monday.

Two-time NBA MVP Jokic finished with 27 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists as Denver stretched their lead at the top of the Western Conference to five games.

Denver, who improved to 40-18,  trailed by nine points after a shaky first quarter but roared back in the second to outscore Miami 38-26 for a slender 65-62 lead at the break.

The Nuggets held on to advantage lead for most of the second half and although Miami got within three points in the final minute, Denver held on for victory.

While Jokic led the scoring, Denver's balanced offense spread the points around with seven players finishing in double figures and sharing 34 assists between them.

Michael Porter Jr. scored 17 points while Bruce Brown had 16.

"I think we like to play for each other," Jokic said afterwards. "We try to find open guys and we're just going to work for the best shot possible.

"The team buys into that and that's why I think we have so many assists," the Serbian star said.

Jimmy Butler led Miami's scorers with 24 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists while Max Strus had 23 points and Bam Adebayo 19.

Elsewhere on Monday, Donovan Mitchell erupted for 41 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers bagged their seventh straight win with a gritty 117-109 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.

Mitchell's sixth 40-point game of the season helped the Cavs tighten their grip on fourth place in the Eastern Conference.

Cleveland are now 38-22 for the season, leading fifth-placed Brooklyn, who were thumped 124-106 by the New York Knicks earlier Monday.

Jarrett Allen (17 points) and Darius Garland (16) were Cleveland's