DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic had 31 points and 12 rebounds in his first game in a month, Tim Hardaway Jr. added 22 points and the Denver Nuggets knocked off the Los Angeles Clippers 122-109 on Friday night.

Jokic, the three-time NBA MVP, missed 16 games after injuring his left knee in the first half of a Dec. 29 loss at Miami. The Nuggets went 10-6 during that stretch, which also included extended absences from starters Cameron Johnson and Christian Braun.

Jokic’s 29th double-double of the season came despite being on a minutes restriction imposed by coach David Adelman. The 30-year-old Serbian was limited to 25 minutes, his second-fewest in a game this season.

James Harden had 25 points and nine assists for Los Angeles. The Clippers had won 16 of their previous 19, the best win percentage in that NBA during that period.

Jokic scored 11 points over a stretch of 3:47 in the fourth quarter that extended Denver’s lead from five to 16. The Nuggets improved to 7-3 this season in the second game of a back-to-back.

Jamal Murray had 22 points, and Peyton Watson added 21 for Denver. Murray, who made four of his five 3-pointers and had a team-high nine assists, scored at least 20 points in a game for the 35th time this season, matching a career high.

Up next

Nuggets: Host Oklahoma City on Sunday night.

Clippers: At Phoenix on Sunday night.

Joe Brady turns to former colleague, agreeing to hire Pete Carmichael as Bills offensive coordinator

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Buffalo Bills coach Joe Brady began filling out his staff by turning to a former colleague in agreeing to hire Pete Carmichael as offensive coordinator, a person with knowledge of discussions told The Associated Press on Friday.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because Carmichael has yet to sign his contract. The NFL Network first reported the agreement.

The 54-year-old Carmichael has been a long-time assistant under Sean Payton, including spending the previous two seasons as the Denver Broncos senior offensive assistant.

It was during Payton’s time coaching New Orleans when Carmichael’s tenure overlapped with Brady. Carmichael was the Saints offensive coordinator when Brady spent the 2017 and ’18 seasons as an offensive assistant.

Carmichael has 26 seasons of NFL coaching experience, beginning in 2000, when he was tight ends coach in Cleveland, before going on to serve as the Saints offensive coordinator from 2009-23. He leaves Denver with Payton shuffling his offensive staff by firing offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and wide receivers coach Keary Colbert.

The shakeup comes after the AFC's top-seeded Broncos' 10-7 loss to New England in the AFC championship game on Sunday.

Carmichael’s extensive experience and connections to Payton are plusses for the 36-year-old Brady, who is making his head-coaching debut. Brady spent the past two-plus seasons as the Bills offensive coordinator before being promoted this week in replacing Sean McDermott, who was fired after nine seasons.

Brady has spoken highly of how he’s adopted many of Payton’s philosophies by saying he earned “a doctorate” in offense during his time in New Orleans.

Though Carmichael will serve as coordinator, Brady has already said he intends to continue calling plays for Buffalo’s Josh Allen-led offense.

Brady still has much to do to fill out his staff with a vacancy at defensive coordinator after Bobby Babich left to take the same job in Green Bay. Buffalo’s special teams coordinator's job is also open after Chris Tabor left to sign with Miami.

New Bills coach Brady fills defensive coordinator job by agreeing to hire Leonhard, AP source says

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — The Buffalo Bills have reached an agreement to hire Jim Leonhard as their defensive coordinator under new head coach Joe Brady, a person with knowledge of the discussions told The Associated Press on Saturday.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because Leonhard has yet to sign a contract. ESPN first reported the agreement.

The 43-year-old Leonhard spent the past two seasons with the Denver Broncos, including last year as the team’s assistant head coach and defensive pass game coordinator. He is the second Broncos assistant to join Brady’s staff; Pete Carmichael was hired as Buffalo’s offensive coordinator, the team announced Saturday.

The Bills also filled their special teams coordinator vacancy by hiring Jeff Rodgers, who spent the past eight years holding the same position with the Arizona Cardinals.

Rodgers has 22 seasons of NFL special teams coaching experience, previously working in Chicago, Denver, Carolina and San Francisco. The 48-year-old Rodgers replaces Chris Tabor, who left Buffalo after one season for the same role with the Miami Dolphins.

Brady previously worked with Carmichael in New Orleans but has no known immediate connections to Leonhard. Buffalo’s season ended with a 33-30 overtime loss to the Broncos two weeks ago in the divisional round of the playoffs.

Leonhard’s hiring fills a key vacancy as the Bills move forward under Brady, Buffalo’s former offensive coordinator, who takes over after Sean McDermott was fired following a nine-year tenure.

While Brady brings continuity to Buffalo’s Josh Allen-led offense, Leonhard will oversee a unit that was built to meet McDermott’s defensive vision. He replaces Bobby Babich, who spent the past two seasons as the Bills coordinator before leaving to take the same position in Green Bay last week.

In his opening news conference on Thursday, Brady envisioned Buffalo’s defense taking on an attacking identity similar to his approach on offense. Injuries and a transition to youth led to Buffalo finishing seventh in the NFL in yards allowed but 28th against the run and 14th in sacks per passing attempts.

The Broncos, by comparison, finished with 68 sacks last season to lead the NFL for a second straight year.

Leonhard spent two separate stints in Buffalo during a 10-year career as an NFL defensive back, including his first three spanning 2005-07. He was an undrafted free agent out of Wisconsin and ended his career with Cleveland in 2014.

Two years later, Leonhard returned to Wisconsin to begin his coaching career and worked his way up from overseeing the Badgers secondary to a five-year stint as defensive coordinator. He closed the 2022 season as Wisconsin’s interim head coach following the firing of Paul Chryst, before leaving the program to spend the following year at Illinois.