Sad but true – without Jokić, Denver is an average NBA team!
Tonight in Miami, Denver was completely outplayed in a game in which it lost the second half by 24 points without the injured Serbian and conceded almost 150 points, all after a tied first half – 147:123!
Nikola Jokić played only 19 minutes before limping to the locker room (we still do not know the cause) near the end of the first half. Up to that moment, he was practically fighting the hosts on his own.
And here is the moment of the injury…
In that time, he scored 21 points (9-of-14 shooting), recorded 8 assists and 5 rebounds, which did not help much, because without him on the floor the visitors in the continuation looked like a shattered army.
Murray more or less kept the team afloat until the second half of the game, scoring 20 points (11 ast, 6 reb), Jones was solid with 16 points, shooting perfectly from three (5 of 5), Hardaway added 16, Brown 15, and that was more or less it!
But on the home team, another Nikola, Jović, shined, having his night and counting up to 22 points (7-of-12 shooting, 5-of-8 from three), grabbing 4 rebounds and dishing out 5 good passes!
Everything was going right for the younger Nikola and he was simply flying around the court, and the Heat built their biggest advantage precisely while he was in the game.
For the hosts, Powell was also excellent with 25 points, reserve Jaquez with 20 (11 ast), while Ware (9 reb) and Wiggins (6 ast, 5 reb) had 19 each, and the consistently solid veteran Adebayo posted 13 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists.
For the hosts, Powell was also excellent with 25 points, reserve Jaquez with 20 (11 ast), while Ware (9 reb) and Wiggins (6 ast, 5 reb) had 19 each, and the consistently solid veteran Adebayo posted 13 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists.
Denver plays its next game on the East Coast tour against Toronto on New Year’s Eve.
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Source: Antonije Kovačević Foto: