DETROIT (AP) — Valeri Nichushkin scored his third goal in two games, Alexandar Georgiev made 28 saves and the Colorado Avalanche beat the slumping Detroit Red Wings 2-1 on Saturday night.

Cale Makar scored on the power play for Colorado. Makar leads all NHL defensemen with 35 points (nine goals, 26 assists) in 28 games.

Lucas Raymond scored his eighth goal in the last nine games for Detroit, which has lost five straight — all by a single goal. Ville Husso made 23 saves.

Takeaways

Avalanche: It was a major bounce back effort from Georgiev, the team's top goaltender. He was pulled from his previous start at Buffalo on Tuesday after surrendering four goals in less than 12 minutes.

Red Wings: The offense continues to come up empty, even against some of the weaker defensive teams in the league. The Avalanche had allowed 27 goals while losing four of their previous six games.

Key moment

The Avalanche only had one power play but Makar made good use of it. He ripped a shot from the point that beat a screened Husso early in the second period. That put the offensively-challenged Red Wings down two goals and the Colorado lead held up.

Key stat

Makar, who got his first career hat trick against Detroit in March, has 17 points in eight career games against the Red Wings.

Up Next

Avalanche visit New Jersey on Sunday, while Red Wings play at Buffalo on Monday.

Wizards overcome career-high 56 by Jokic, snap 16-game skid with 122-113 win over the Nuggets

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jordan Poole scored 39 points, and the Washington Wizards overcame a career-high 56 by Nikola Jokic to beat the Denver Nuggets 122-113 on Saturday night and snap their 16-game losing streak.

Jamal Murray (hamstring), Aaron Gordon (calf) and Dario Saric (ankle) were all out for Denver, which left Jokic as something of a one-man show for the Nuggets. He took 38 shots from the field — also a career high — and had 16 rebounds and eight assists.

But Washington always had an answer.

The Wizards (3-18) won for the first time since Oct. 30. Their 16-game skid tied a franchise record.

Poole made a career-high nine 3-pointers, and Washington as a team made 16. Denver went 5 of 24, which is why the Nuggets couldn't fully take advantage of Jokic's dominance.

The Wizards were up 69-57 at halftime, and although Jokic scored 23 points in the third quarter, Washington was still up by six when he went to the bench at the start of the fourth. Denver was down 108-95 when he returned with 7:35 remaining.

Takeaways

Nuggets: It was a huge game for Jokic, but the fact that it wasn't a triple-double — he didn't quite have enough assists — was a sign that Denver didn't have enough balance. Julian Strawther did have a decent night off the bench with 18 points.

Wizards: Although Denver wasn't close to full strength, the Wizards won despite injuries of their own. Kyle Kuzma (rib) and rookie Alex Sarr (back) did not play.

Key moment

Justin Champagnie made a driving bank shot with 1:12 left to put the Wizards up 118-111. Champagnie had a more modest career high of his own, scoring 23 points.

Key stat

Jokic's previous career high was 50 points, at Sacramento on Feb. 6, 2021.

Up next

Both teams play Sunday. Denver is at Atlanta, and Washington hosts Memphis.

Bangot Dak scores 16 points, Colorado jumps out early and rolls past Colorado State 72-55

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Bangot Dak scored 16 points and Colorado cruised to a 72-55 victory over Colorado State on Saturday night.

Dak made 7 of 8 shots with a 3-pointer. Julian Hammond III added 13 points and Elijah Malone added 10 for Colorado (7-2). Three others finished with nine points apiece, including Trevor Baskin who grabbed 11 rebounds with two blocks and two steals.

Colorado shot 50% (28 of 56) from the floor and outrebounded Colorado State 44-33.

Jalen Lake made three 3-pointers and scored 18 points to lead Colorado State (5-4). Kyan Evans added 11 points and Nique Clifford had 10.

Malone scored 10 first-half points and Hammond added eight to help the Buffaloes build a 43-21 halftime advantage.

Dak's tip-in jumper stretched the Buffaloes' lead to 56-30 with 12:10 remaining. Lake converted a four-point play and added a pair of free throws between a pair of Clifford 3-pointers to pull the Rams to 58-42 with 6:39 remaining, but they still trailed by double digits the rest of the way.

The Buffaloes have won their last nine and 22 of 23 home games dating to last season.

Jacksen Moni scores 18 to lead North Dakota State past Northern Colorado 82-70

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — Jacksen Moni scored 18 points to help North Dakota State defeat Northern Colorado 82-70 on Saturday night.

Moni also grabbed seven rebounds for the Bison (7-4). Brennan Watkins added 11 points and seven rebounds. Tajavis Miller scored 11.

Isaiah Hawthorne led the Bears (6-5) with 19 points, 10 rebounds and three steals. Jaron Rillie added 15 points and Quinn Denker scored 13.

Air Force secures 69-61 win against Stony Brook

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Wesley Celichowski's 22 points helped Air Force defeat Stony Brook 69-61 on Saturday.

Celichowski shot 6 of 10 from the field, including 2 for 4 from 3-point range, and went 8 for 8 from the line for the Falcons (3-7). Ethan Taylor scored 17 points while going 6 of 11 (3 for 6 from 3-point range) and added eight rebounds, six assists, and three steals. Caleb Walker shot 6 of 6 from the field and 2 of 4 from the free-throw line to finish with 14 points.

The Seawolves (2-7) were led by CJ Luster II, who recorded 27 points. Stony Brook also got 13 points from Collin O'Connor. Andre Snoddy finished with 11 points.