Reigning NBA Finals MVP Nikola Jokic of Denver Nuggets scored a game-high 31 points and pulled down 15 rebounds for his league-leading 24th double-double of the season in a 113-104 road win over Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night.

The 28-year-old Serbian did most of the damage in the second half with 21 points and 10 rebounds in the third and fourth quarters alone. He surpasses Lakers forward Anthony Davis, who has 23 double-doubles this season.

Entering the game, Jokic ranked third in the league in rebounds (12.3) and assists (9.4) per game. The five-time All-Star also leads the league in triple-doubles, with ten. The big man has scored 20 or more points in 24 of the team's 28 games this season.

"We have the best player in the world," said Nuggets head coach Michael Malone afterwards. "His consistency, his ability to read the defense, see the defense, and make everyone around him better is what I admire most about his game."

Jokic and his teammates controlled the pace of the game and never surrendered the lead after going 15-13 up midway into the first quarter. By halftime, the lead was extended to 61-44 and stretched to as high as 20.

The Raptors went on a 29-14 run to briefly cut the lead to five in the fourth quarter before the Nuggets put the game away with three pointers from Jokic and teammate Michael Porter Jr.

"We did a poor job of closing that third quarter," said Malone. "Then we put our starters back in, got a few stops and executed on offense."

In the end, all five Denver starters scored in double-figures, highlighted by the 20 points from Canadian guard Jamal Murray.

With the win, the defending NBA champions improve to 19-10 on the season and 8-8 on the road.

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