It is not often that Nikola Jokic loses his cool, but he was furious at one point in the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s game between the Denver Nuggets and the Phoenix Suns. With the Nuggets down 96-90, Jokic wanted head coach Michael Malone to challenge an out-of-bounds call, but he initially refused to, and Jokic was pissed.
— Chris Scorch (@ChrisScorch) March 6, 2024
As Jokic got angrier by the passing second, Malone finally relented and challenged the call. It proved to be the right decision, as the officials overturned it and gave the Nuggets the ball. I wouldn’t blame Malone too much for waiting a little bit there, as we have seen players get it wrong in these situations plenty of times in the past.
Getting back to the game, Denver would eventually take the lead and was up 102-99 with just over 40 seconds remaining in the fourth. They seemed on course for victory, but Kevin Durant had other ideas. Durant was having a torrid fourth quarter but managed to hit a three on the next possession to tie things up.
Jokic had a chance to win the game in regulation but missed a shot at the buzzer and the contest went to overtime. The Suns then dominated in the extra period, winning it 15-5 to come away with a 117-107 win.
The Nuggets were down by as many as 22 points in this one and showed a lot of heart to come back from that big deficit. They would be extremely disappointed with their play in overtime, though, as it was well below standard. The loss snapped the Nuggets’ six-game win streak and dropped them to 42-20 on the season.
As for Jokic, he finished with 25 points, 16 rebounds, and 5 assists, but uncharacteristically had 7 turnovers. It certainly wasn’t his finest showing but you would back him to make amends when the Nuggets take on the Boston Celtics next on Thursday.
Nikola Jokic Could Win His Third MVP In 2023-24
This loss aside, there has been a lot to like about how Jokic and the Nuggets have played after the All-Star break. The defending champions were on a six-game winning streak coming into this clash as I mentioned, with Jokic recording four triple-doubles in that span.
Both he and the team have taken things up a notch as we inch closer to the business end of the season. The Nuggets are currently third in the Western Conference but the way they have been playing, I would back them to finish the campaign at the top.
Should they do so, I believe Jokic will become just the ninth player in NBA history to have won at least three MVPs. The six-time All-Star is averaging 25.9 points, 12.3 rebounds, 9.2 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game in 2023-24 while shooting 57.9% from the field.
He is having another phenomenal season and Bam Adebayo even said Jokic is the hardest player to guard in the NBA. Teams have had no answer for the Serbian and he looks set to lead the Nuggets back to the NBA Finals.
I don’t see any team in the West being able to beat a healthy Denver in a seven-game series. The Celtics are probably the only ones in the whole league who I would give a shot at doing so and we might well be getting a Finals preview on Thursday.
Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We really appreciate your support.
