Nikola Jokić decided to dominate this time – Portland suffered a crushing 146-117 defeat as the best basketball player on the planet scored 40 points in just three quarters!
Jokić fell short of a triple-double, finishing with seven rebounds and eight assists, but that was a conscious decision made in agreement with Michael Malone not to chase the stats until the end.
He played 30 minutes and 46 seconds, without forcing any extra effort to grab three more rebounds and two more assists—something any other NBA star would have done.
Jokić is built differently. When he chooses and when the situation calls for it, he focuses on either passing or scoring. This time, he was unstoppable, shooting 15/22 from the field, 2/7 from three, and a perfect 8/8 from the free-throw line.
He also added three steals, a block, and five turnovers that didn’t overshadow his incredible performance.
On the contrary, his impact was impressive, especially because of one particular shot—when he had less than a second to take a corner three, and he nailed it.
Jokic literally just did the meme bruh lmao
— Hater Report (@HaterReport_) February 11, 2025
“Nikola Jokic after a team plays 23.9 seconds of excellent defense”
😭😭pic.twitter.com/bBfWAqUbth
Before the game, Jokić was once again named Player of the Week, and he sealed that honor with Denver’s seventh consecutive win. While he hasn’t always been able to align personal and team success this season, everything is finally clicking. This time, he was excellently supported by Christian Braun with 26 points and six rebounds. Strother added 18 points, Murray 17, Pickett 14, and Nnaji 11. Gordon contributed with nine points and seven assists.
For the losing team, Benton scored 22 points, Clingan had 21 with seven rebounds, while Deni Avdija recorded 16 points, six rebounds, and eight assists in 33 and a half minutes.
Denver took full control of the game relatively quickly, securing a comfortable double-digit lead. By the end of the third quarter, the Nuggets were up by 23, a clear signal for their best player to rest. Jokić could be pleased as his teammates only stepped on the gas in the final period, at one point extending the lead to a maximum of +32.
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