Timberwolves weather Nikola Jokic's 61-point triple-double in 2OT - ESPN

DENVER — The Minnesota Timberwolves overcame a career- and NBA-best 61-point triple-double performance from Nikola Jokic to outlast the Denver Nuggets 140-139 in double overtime on Tuesday night.

Jokic's 61 points — the most by a player in the NBA this season — were also the most points in a triple-double in NBA history. Jokic, who played 52 minutes, 38 seconds, also had 10 rebounds and 10 assists. He didn't leave the court after halftime.

«Nikola came up to me after the third quarter and said, 'Coach, I'm good. Leave me in there. I don't want to come out. Let me just keep playing,'» Nuggets coach Michael Malone said afterward. «He was in a good rhythm, obviously — 61 points, 10 assists, 10 rebounds, 2 steals. The guy is Superman.»

The Timberwolves sealed the win on a pair of Nickeil Alexander-Walker free throws with 0.1 seconds left, concluding a wild sequence in which Russell Westbrook stole the ball on one end in the closing seconds, missed a layup and then fouled Alexander-Walker in the corner. The Timberwolves' guard made two free throws and missed the third one on purpose.

«He's a guy that hates to lose,» Malone said of Westbrook. «So he may not want to hear any of that stuff, because he's a perfectionist and he's a competitor. And knowing the way I do, he's probably going to put a lot of this on him. But we lost tonight. The Denver Nuggets, we as a collective group lost a game tonight, not one player.»

Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 34 points to go along with 10 rebounds and 8 assists. He had 10 points entering the fourth quarter, and has now scored 25 or more in seven consecutive games against Denver.

Jokic hit two free throws with 13.9 seconds left to tie it at 112 in regulation. He dropped in a floater with