Not many favored the Clippers to beat the Nuggets tonight, as they were short-handed and did not have Kawhi Leonard or Bradley Beal available for this game. And just like several sportsbooks predicted, the Nuggets beat the Clippers 130-116 at the Intuit Dome.
Nikola Jokic, the three-time MVP, had a stellar performance for the Nuggets as he dropped 55 points for the Nuggets, 52 of which came in just three quarters. Jokic finished the night with 55 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists, while shooting an efficient 78% from the field.
Following the game, Tyronn Lue, the head coach of the Clippers, revealed his plan to control Nikola Jokic’s offensive production was to let him score, try to intercept the plays he initiates, and not let him pass the ball. However, he admitted that the plan did not yield any fruit for the team.
“We planned to try to double him once he got going. But our game plan was to, you know, make him score and just take away his passing, take everybody else out of the game. I thought the first half, we did a good job with that. We knew Jamal Murray would be more aggressive in the second half, but I didn’t think he would score 55,” explained Lue.
“You know, he made some threes. He played like a guard when Zubac was on him. Pin downs and all that stuff, which is tough for Zu to try to, you know, try to navigate through. Then, when we go smaller on him, we just post up, and then so it’s just a tough cover, but I didn’t think it would get 55,” said a stunned Tyronn Lue.
“But you know what I’m saying? For the most part, um first half was really good. It’s just the third quarters that are killing us, you know, um, not being able to score the basketball, not taking care of the ball. So we just got to get better with the third quarter,” said Lue in an honest reflection of the Clippers’ recent form.
The Clippers were ahead at the half as they led 63-68 before the Nuggets had a 43-point explosion in the third quarter to turn the game 106-90 in their favor.
After dropping 25 of his 55 points in the first quarter itself, Jokic had another flurry in the third quarter, where he scored 19 points to blow the game apart. He only played two minutes in the final quarter before he was subbed off for the night. If the Nuggets’ head coach had allowed him to stay on the floor, he could’ve crossed 60 points easily.
Nikola Jokic has started this season looking like he has his eyes set on the MVP trophy this season, as well as the championship for his team. He has averaged 28.8 points, 13.1 rebounds, and 10.9 assists while shooting a whopping 68.4% from the floor.
If the Joker continues to play like this, the Nuggets, who have started the year with nine wins in eleven games, will look like solid title contenders seeking home-court advantage in the Playoffs at the end of the regular season.
