In the middle of a tough series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Denver Nuggets caught a major break in Game 3 when the opponent completely collapsed offensively. The final stretch was so bad for the Thunder that even Nikola Jokic was surprised when his team rallied to victory despite a subpar individual performance.
“I missed 10 threes,” said Jokic after the game. “They are aggressive, they are physical, they are handsy, and they are playing passing lanes. Basically, I was the worst player on the court today. But we won the game, and that was the most important.”
Nikola Jokic struggled in Game 3 on Friday, which went into overtime against the Thunder. In 44 minutes, he dropped 20 points, 16 rebounds, and six assists on 32.0% shooting and 0-10 shooting from three. Jokic also had eight turnovers in a new playoff high for him this year. Overall, it was a terrible showing for the Joker, and not even he could deny his struggles on the court.
Thanks to a team-wide effort, the Nuggets were still somehow able to win the match, and now they have all the momentum going into Sunday’s pivotal Game 4. For Nuggets fans, it was an important victory in what might have been the worst game of the season for Nikola Jokic.
As arguably the best center in the game right now, standards are high for the Joker, and he usually has no problem meeting those standards. With career averages of 21.8 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game, Jokic can do it all on the court, and he was a leading MVP candidate for the fifth year in a row with averages of 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 10.2 assists per game on 57.6% shooting.
As a 2x MVP, NBA champion, and 7x All-Star, Jokic is already on an All-Time great trajectory, and he’s not done adding to his legacy. This season, with everyone talking about the Lakers, Warriors, and Thunder in the West, the Nuggets were able to fly under the radar as they perfected their team chemistry.
After the firing of Michael Malone in April, the Nuggets shed all toxic feelings in the locker room and enabled Nikola Jokic to be more vocal in his leadership than he’s ever been before. The results so far have been encouraging as the Nuggets sit with a 2-1 advantage in the Western Semifinals.
With an opportunity to take a commanding two-game lead in the series, the pressure is on Jokic to deliver a much better performance back at the Ball Arena tomorrow, but the Thunder will not go down easily either way.
As the best team in the West and winners of 68 games, Oklahoma City proved themselves as worthy, and we can expect them to answer the call as they face a potential 3-1 deficit in the second round.
For the Nuggets to come out victorious, they’ll need to contain SGA as much as they can and let their superstar do his thing on the other end. After years of elite play for the Nuggets, they trust Jokic to deliver for them when needed, and they fully expect him to play up to his standards for the rest of the series.
