Nikola Jokić posts career-high 56 points in loss to free-falling Wizards

Nikola Jokić reached a new high in a Hall of Fame career on Saturday. It wasn't enough to avoid a loss to the worst team in the NBA.

Jokić's Denver Nuggets fell to the Washington Wizards 122-113 despite the three-time MVP posting 56 points on 22-of-38 shooting, along with 16 rebounds and eight assists. The win broke a 16-game losing streak for Washington, whose record remains an NBA-worst 3-18. Every other NBA team has at least five wins.

In the case of Jokić, the career high wasn't a reflection of brilliance so much as a lack of other options on the Nuggets. Jamal Murray (hamstring) and Aaron Gordon (calf) were both out Saturday, essentially leaving the big man as option Nos. 1, 2 and 3 for a team that is now 11-10.

The non-Jokić Denver players combined to shoot 24-for-56 with 10 turnovers. The bigger issue might have been on defense though, as the NBA's worst team by offensive rating looked downright competent facing the short-handed Nuggets.

Jordan Poole finished with 39 points on 12-of-26 shooting (9-of-20 from 3-point range) with eight assists. G League veteran Justin Champagnie, who had played roughly four-and-a-half minutes in the NBA before Thursday, had 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting.

There aren't going to be many losses worse than that in the NBA this season, even if the Nuggets were short-handed and the Wizards got the rare Jordan Poole 2022 vintage game.

Denver now faces the second half of a back-to-back with a road game against the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday, before the NBA schedule pauses for the NBA Cup.