It seems even Nikola Jokić has had enough. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen the Serbian center this frustrated, as he was against Golden State. There’s frequent talk that he often has to go it alone — and that was absolutely the case again on Friday night. He gave it his all against the Warriors on the road, but it wasn’t enough (118:104).
He recorded 33 points (9/10 for two, 4/7 for three, 3/3 free throws), along with 12 rebounds, nine assists, two steals, but also six turnovers. That still wasn’t enough to beat the Warriors, where he had a real chance to show Draymond Green why he’s the best basketball player on the planet and that no one can guard him.
Draymond Green has been receiving daily praise for his defense over the past two months and has suddenly jumped ahead of Dyson Daniels and Evan Mobley as the main favorite to win Defensive Player of the Year. Such a media push hasn’t been seen in a while, and it slightly resembles the battle between Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokić for the 2023 MVP, when the award, thanks to a media campaign, ended up in the hands of the Cameroonian center. It seems likely that Draymond, with strong media backing from analysts and former players — and even himself — will become Defensive Player of the Year for the second time in his career.
Then came an old problem.
Jokić left the game — and the offense disappeared. Denver couldn’t score a single point for four minutes, and the Warriors took full advantage. The second unit was a disaster, from Russell Westbrook to Vlatko Čančar, who did nothing in three minutes. The Nuggets’ second unit sucked the life out of the game — and the starters — so when Nikola and the others returned, it was already too late. The home team had taken control, went into halftime with a +6 lead, and the guests looked completely disoriented. They entered the third quarter the same way. Jokić hit four three-pointers, three of them in four minutes, but even that wasn’t enough. Aaron Gordon looked like a bowling pin on defense, Westbrook made mistakes and kept bricking shots, prompting a visibly exhausted Serbian star to lose his temper.
He rested for a few minutes at the start of the fourth quarter, returned quickly, but Golden State had already built a double-digit lead — which, for this Denver team without Jamal Murray, dealing with fatigue and total lack of focus, was too much. The Warriors deservedly took the win, and now a new problem looms for Denver.
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They now have the same record as the Lakers (47-30), just one win more than the Warriors (46-41), and two more than Minnesota, Memphis, and the Clippers, but also one game more played. With four games left in the season, not only could Denver lose home-court advantage, but they could also drop into the play-in. Remaining games include home matchups with Indiana and Memphis, and away games against Sacramento and Houston. It will be extremely difficult to hold on to one of the top four positions — third or fourth — which would secure home-court advantage in the NBA playoffs.
Golden State was led to victory by Steph Curry with 36 points, Brandin Podziemski with 26, and Jimmy Butler with 19.
Alongside Jokić, standout performances for Denver came from Michael Porter Jr. with 23, Christian Braun with 16, and Aaron Gordon with 15 points.
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Source: Mozzarsport, Foto: Guliver/AP