In Game 1, the Portland Trail Blazers came out firing, hitting their shots and making a statement early on with the crucial opening win.
But Denver, even without Jamal Murray, isn’t a team that’s just going to fold. After their defeat, fans knew that the Nuggets would be ready to respond in Game 2 — and the team did not disappoint.
They dominated for most of the game, ending with a score of 128-109. Nikola Jokic, the presumptive MVP of the league, dropped 38 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists per game on 75% shooting.
Fans went wild on Twitter, praising Jokic for carrying his team and delivering on a huge win for them.
We never seen a player like Nikola Jokic before
— Vontel (@DVontelJ) May 25, 2021
Nikola Jokic. Seriously how tf do you defend that guy
— SHOHEI OHTANI FAN ACCOUNT (@Justine433333) May 25, 2021
Say what you want, Nikola Jokic is as good as any superstar roday. Dude just delivers.
— Jarret 🇫🇲 (@JarretSigrah) May 25, 2021
https://twitter.com/adhiwell_/status/1397058208766652423
Nikola Jokic is scary good
— S.H. (@SalimDKD) May 25, 2021
Fun fact: Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has never scored fewer than 10 points in any of his 35 playoff games. #MileHighBasketball
— Joe Nguyen (@JoeNguyen) May 25, 2021
Jokic is the MVP! #DenverNuggets #NikolaJokic #mvp
— Caleb Power (@caleb_power14) May 25, 2021
Nikola Jokic is splendid and a treasure, and I’m so glad he’s going to be a superstar for like 10 more years
— Jackson Frank (@jackfrank_jjf) May 25, 2021
Clearly, fans can’t get enough of The Joker, and he has proven himself as one of the NBA’s elite players.
This season, it’s hard to say how far they’ll get without Jamal Murray. As good as Jokic is, not having a 21-point-per-game scorer definitely hurts their chances, even against this defensively compromised Blazer team.
But so long as the Nuggets have Jokic, they’ll always be a team to fear. And whether it’s not or in the next few years, the Nuggets will have their moment. It’s only a matter of time.