“We’re a great team.”
Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has prevailed so many times in clutch situations this season that it was surprising to see him stumble during Wednesday night’s overtime thriller vs. the Lakers at Pepsi Center.
But there wasn’t any sugarcoating Jokic’s fourth-quarter and overtime execution: 0 for 5, six rebounds, three assists, two turnovers.
In the waning moments of Wednesday’s loss to LeBron James and the Lakers, twice Jokic tried to bait his opponent into a shooting foul, and it failed miserably. And, with Denver trailing 119-116 with 20 seconds left in overtime, Jokic flung one more pass into traffic only for it to land directly into an opponent’s hands.
“It was a close game, we just didn’t execute in the last minutes,” Jokic said. “I made a lot of terrible mistakes. Every decision was bad. I need to be better with my decision making.”
Jokic is rarely one to dole blame elsewhere. On Wednesday, his lack of composure stood out given his overwhelming success in similar situations this season. In 34 “clutch” games (defined as any game within five points with five minutes or less) this season the Nuggets have the third-best winning percentage in the NBA at 67%.
“I was maybe not aggressive, I think I just needed to look to score a little bit more or just try to shoot, at least,” Jokic lamented, following his 22-point, 11-rebound, six-assist night. “It’s not a bad thing to lose against them, especially because it’s overtime. We put up a fight.”
Added Nuggets coach Michael Malone: “Just have to be a little bit more composed down the stretch. I thought we were very un-Nugget-like down the stretch, turnovers, lack of execution, just not all on the same page.”
On Dec. 3, when the Nuggets lost to the Lakers at home, Jokic struggled in the fourth quarter against Anthony Davis and the Lakers’ length. That night, he was 2 for 7 from the floor for six points in the final quarter.
He’ll have one more chance to correct the record and even the season series at 2-2 on March 15. Should these two teams eventually meet in the playoffs, Los Angeles’ ability to frustrate Jokic may come to define the matchup.
James’ mandate. From James’ emphatic jams to his animated on-court reactions, it was apparent early that he badly wanted to win the game.
Had the Lakers lost, they
The Nuggets are 12-5 in their last 17 games, and they’ve done it largely without several significant parts. Key contributors such as Will Barton, Michael Porter Jr. and Mason Plumlee should be back after the upcoming All-Star break.
Asked about their No. 2 position in the Western Conference Jamal Murray said: “We’re a great team. When we play defense, we can beat anybody, and when we don’t, we struggle and we have to come back and fight out of deficits.”
That’s essentially the secondhalf blueprint, where they’ll pick up next Friday in Oklahoma City.