Nikola Jokic has 23 points, knocks down late bucket to send Nuggets over Suns 125-123

PHOENIX (AP) — Nikola Jokic had 23 points, 17 rebounds and tied a season high with 17 assists to lead the Denver Nuggets over the Phoenix Suns 125-123 on Tuesday night.

Jokic made the go-ahead basket, knocking down a 12-foot jumper with 11.5 seconds left. Phoenix's Devin Booker got a good look at a potential winning 3-pointer, but it bounced off the rim.

The Suns trailed 117-109 with 3:19 left, but methodically worked their way back. Booker made a tough jumper in the lane to tie the game at 123 with 30.2 seconds remaining. He had 22 points and eight assists.

Jokic had his NBA-leading 29th triple-double of the season by early in the third quarter. The three-time MVP shot 9 of 16 from the field and delivered several pinpoint passes, including one that went the full length of the court for a layup by Christian Braun.

The Nuggets have fought injuries for most of the season, but are now close to full strength. Jamal Murray had 21 points and Tim Hardaway Jr. added 18 off the bench.

Denver had a 10-point lead at halftime, but Jordan Goodwin and Grayson Allen made back-to-back 3s late in the third to help Phoenix cut the deficit to 97-95 heading into the fourth. Allen and Jalen Green both had 21 points.

The Nuggets have won six of their last eight games and are 1 1/2 games behind the Lakers for the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference playoff race.

The sliding Suns have dropped six of seven and face an uphill battle to avoid the play-in tournament. They're currently the No. 7 team in the West.

Jokic — who picked up an early technical foul after heated comments toward referee Dannica Baroody — had 15 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists before the halftime break.

Nuggets: Host the Mavericks on Wednesday.

Suns: Host the Jazz on Saturday.

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Denver Nuggets guard Julian Strawther (3) fouls Phoenix Suns guard Jalen Green during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, March 24, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Phoenix Suns forward Ryan Dunn (0) drives past Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, March 24, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Phoenix Suns guard Jalen Green (4) shoots over Denver Nuggets guard Bruce Brown and forward Spencer Jones (21) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, March 24, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Phoenix Suns guard Grayson Allen (8) drives on Denver Nuggets forward Spencer Jones during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, March 24, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Phoenix Suns guard Jalen Green (4) shields the ball from Denver Nuggets guard/forward Bruce Brown during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, March 24, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

The Trump administration has offered a 15-point ceasefire plan to Iran, as it appears to seek an end to the war even as more troops head to the Middle East.

The plan was submitted to Iran by intermediaries from Pakistan, who have offered to host renewed negotiations between Washington and Tehran, a person briefed on the contours of the plan but who was not authorized to speak publicly about it told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military is preparing to deploy at least 1,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East in the coming days, according to three people with knowledge of the move who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military plans.

Any talks between the U.S. and Iran would face monumental challenges. Many of Washington’s shifting objectives, particularly over Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs, remain difficult to achieve, and it’s not clear who in Iran’s government has the authority or would be willing to negotiate.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s office said he has been discussing the war this week with several counterparts, but Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, denied Trump’s claim of direct talks and an Iranian military spokesperson declared that the fighting would go on.

Alluding to progress in talks with Iran, U.S. President Donald Trump claimed Iran shared an oil- and gas-related “present,” a day after telling reporters the Middle Eastern nation is eager for a deal to end the war.

Here is the latest:

Saudi Arabia’s powerful Prince Mohammed, the day-to-day ruler of the kingdom, has spoken by phone to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif about the Iran war and Islamabad’s efforts at supporting ceasefire talks.

Sharif said Islamabad “would always stand by the kingdom and the brotherly people of Saudi Arabia, just as they had always supported Pakistan, through thick and thin.”

The state-run Saudi Press Agency said they discussed “the repercussions of the ongoing military escalation on the security and stability of the region and the world.”

Nuclear-armed Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have a mutual defense agreement.

An Iranian military spokesperson mocked U.S. attempts at a ceasefire deal Wednesday, insisting that the Americans were only negotiating with themselves.

Lt. Col. Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesperson for the Iranian military’s Khatam Al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, made the statement in a prerecorded video aired on state television.

“The strategic power you used to talk about has turned into a strategic failure,” he said. “The one claiming to be a global superpower would have already gotten out of this mess if it could. Don’t dress up your defeat as an agreement. Your era of empty promises has come to an end.”

He added: “Have your internal conflicts reached the point where you are negotiating with yourselves?”

Zolfaghari’s statement came shortly after the Trump administration sent a 15-point ceasefire plan to Iran through Pakistan.

“Our first and last word has been the same from day one, and it will stay that way: Someone like us will never come to terms with someone like you,” he said. “Not now, not ever.”

“Stability in the region is guaranteed by the strong hand of our armed forces. Stability through strength,” Zolfaghari said.

“We state this clearly: Until it is our will, nothing will go back to the way it was. That will only come about when the very thought of acting against the Iranian nation is completely wiped from your corrupt minds.”

The Trump administration has offered a 15-point ceasefire plan to Iran, according to a person briefed on the contours of the plan but who was not authorized to speak publicly about it.

The ceasefire plan was submitted to Iran by intermediaries from Pakistan, who have offered to host renewed negotiations between Washington and Tehran.

The proposal comes as the U.S. military is preparing to send at least 1,000 more troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to supplement some 50,000 troops already in the region.

The New York Times reported earlier Tuesday that the 15-point plan had been delivered to Iranian officials.

The Pentagon is also in the process of deploying a pair of Marine Expeditionary Units that will add about 5,000 Marines and thousands of sailors to the region.

Israeli officials, who have been advocating for Trump to continue the war against Iran, were taken by surprise by the U.S. administration’s submission of a ceasefire plan, the person said.

But with the U.S. taking steps to send additional soldiers and Marines to the Mideast, the move is being framed as Trump maneuvering to give himself “max flexibility” on what he will do next, the person added.

The White House did not respond to requests for comment.

By Aamer Madhani

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A Lebanese army soldier checks the site where intercepted missiles fell in Sahel Alma, north of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, March 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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