NBA players routinely get mad at the officials over calls during games but that wasn’t how Mark Lindsay managed to upset Nikola Jokic during Saturday’s game between the Denver Nuggets and the San Antonio Spurs. In the third quarter of the contest, Jokic was at the line and he got pissed when Lindsay threw a bad pass to him.
Jokic told the ref “the hell kind pass was that?!” 😭pic.twitter.com/lv984xS8O4
— BricksCenter (@BricksCenter) January 5, 2025
At the end of that clip, Lindsay appeared to acknowledge that he did make a poor pass. We have seen players get a little bit upset over how an official has thrown the ball when they were at the line but this might be the first time someone asked for a redo.
Lindsay obliged and Jokic did end up making the free throw. While the 29-year-old was quite upset here, he was smiling after the game.
Jokic finished with 46 points (19-35 FG), nine rebounds, 10 assists, two steals, and two blocks to lead the Nuggets to a 122-111 win over the Spurs in overtime. The six-time All-Star missed a chance to win the game in regulation but made amends for it in the extra period.
Jokic scored nine points in overtime to put the Spurs away for good. He showed then and really in the whole game, why he is regarded as the best player in the NBA.
With the win here, the Nuggets improved to 20-14 on the season. They have won four of their last five games and while they haven’t been great in all of them, they’re getting the job done. That’s a positive sign, but they need to start playing better too.
The Nuggets’ struggles earlier in the season led to Jokic getting frustrated in a way that we hadn’t really seen in the past. His body language wasn’t great and he was calling out his teammates too.
After a shocking 122-113 loss to the Washington Wizards on Dec. 7, Jokic even suggested Nuggets players should have their pay cut as that might motivate them to play better. The three-time MVP added that benching someone might serve as good motivation too.
The one individual who certainly wouldn’t be getting benched by the Nuggets anytime soon is Jokic. He is averaging 31.5 points, 13.0 rebounds, 9.7 assists, 1.7 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game this season while shooting 55.3% from the field and 47.3% from beyond the arc.
Jokic has been simply spectacular and the only reason he isn’t running away with the MVP award right now is because of the Nuggets’ record. They’ll need to start winning games more regularly if he is to win the trophy over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who has led the Oklahoma City Thunder to a terrific 30-5 record.
Jokic for one wouldn’t care too much about winning MVP, though. He has never really campaigned for it at any point and isn’t going to do it now either. He just wants to win games and, of course, titles.
We’ll see Jokic in action next in a clash between the last two NBA champions, as the Nuggets take on the Boston Celtics at Ball Arena on Tuesday at 10 PM ET. Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder to a 105-92 win over the Celtics on Sunday and it will be interesting to see if the Serbian can replicate that feat.
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