The Nuggets notched a ho-hum 129-104 victory over the Steph Curry-less Warriors on Friday night with Nikola Jokic leading the way like usual. Surprisingly, Jokic actually didn’t post a triple-double in the game, settling for 26 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists.
Still, he managed to make history, becoming the first player ever to record a game with 25+ points, 9+ rebounds, and 9+ assists with an 85%+ True Shooting, and zero attempted free throws. The Joker went 12-15 from the field, including 2-3 from three-point range, and didn’t get to the charity stripe even once.
Despite the fact that Jokic brought down his season averages across the board, he still managed to do something that nobody in the league has ever done before. It just goes to show that his impact on the game is more than we’ve seen in a long time, and ever in Denver.
It’s not necessarily even a positive that he didn’t get to the free throw line, but it just goes to show that he’s not reliant on the whistle. To put up those stats, with that level of efficiency, is truly unprecedented.
Nuggets still alive for Emirates NBA Cup
With the win, the Nuggets improved to 6-2 on the season, and 5-0 at home. They also got their first win in NBA Cup group play, improving to 1-1 in Group C. Losing the opener of Cup play to the Blazers hurt, but the Nuggets kept the point differential down with just a two-point loss. The blowout victory over Golden State has given them a +23, the highest differential in the group.
They got the misfortune of being drawn into the Group of Death, so losing their first game to Portland created a major uphill battle, but they’re very much still alive. It won’t be easy, with remaining games against the Rockets and Spurs, beautiful the Nuggets sweep those games, they’ll be in a great position to advance to the knockout round.
Obviously, the Nuggets have loftier goals than winning the NBA Cup, but these are excellent competitive opportunities to see how they stack up against good competition in something like a playoff atmosphere.
We all know how competitive Jokci is, and as long as he’s playing, he’s going to want to win every game. Put a trophy and some cash on the line? This team is likely going to do everything in its power to win the Cup. We’ve never seen a team win the Cup and go on to win the Finals, so maybe the Nuggets can set some more history in that regard.