Jokic has Thunder’s number(s): 28, 14, 12
At this point, there shouldn’t be any more concerns about Nikola Jokic’s effectiveness.
For the fifth consecutive game, Jokic played like an allstar center, and the Nuggets surged because of it Saturday night at the Pepsi Center. Their 110-102 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, boosted by Jokic’s fourth triple-double of the season, improved Denver’s record to 16-8.
They’ll take on the New York Knicks (6-20) at the Pepsi Center on Sunday.
Reflecting an offense that’s slowly starting to find its rhythm, Jokic looked spry en route to 28 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists. He also connected on three 3-pointers as part of his 11-of-14 shooting night. His star counterpart, Jamal Murray, registered 14 points, four rebounds and seven assists.
At times the duo toyed with Oklahoma City, whose 3-point shooting (6-of-23) and rebounding undermined its chances. Dennis Schroder paced the Thunder with 22 points, while Chris Paul initiated the offense with 15 points and 10 assists.
Denver owned an 44-37 advantage on the glass, improving to 11-2 in such games this season.
The Nuggets turned the heat on in the third quarter, both with their plucky defense and their clever offense. Jokic put Thunder center Steven Adams in the spin cycle on one se
quence and then finished off another possession with a cutting, two-handed jam. Not to be outdone, Murray caught a Thunder defender with his patented upand-under, saw an open lane, tossed the ball off the backboard and finished off an alley-oop to himself.
By the time the theatrics were over, the Nuggets held an 82-68 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The Nuggets have been one of the league’s healthiest outfits all season, but they played Saturday night without veteran mainstay Paul Millsap, who was out with a right quadriceps strain. In his place, former Thunder forward Jerami Grant earned his first start of the year.
He finished with 13 points and five rebounds against his former team.
Heading into this season, many NBA observers presumed that Oklahoma City would be on the outside of the playoff chase looking in after dealing franchise cornerstones Paul George and Russell Westbrook in landscape-altering deals. Instead, heading into Saturday, the Thunder had actually won five of its last seven games and would’ve been a playoff team had the postseason started that day.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone, who was an assistant coach in New Orleans during the 201011 season with Paul, knew better than to write them off.
“Impressed but not surprised,” Malone said. “Maybe it’s because I know Chris Paul as well as I do. A lot of people, because they lose PG, and Russ and even Jerami (Grant), just wrote OKC off. ‘Well, they’re kind of an afterthought.’ They still have players that are very talented.
“You have a starting point guard who’s one of the greatest competitors and leaders I’ve ever been around,” he continued. “They have a chip on their shoulder and they are playing a lot better.”
After a strong start, the Nuggets relaxed in the second quarter. Their interior defense softened up and allowed the Thunder to chip away at what was once a 16-point lead.
The Nuggets carried a 52-49 lead into halftime thanks to superior play from Jokic and Murray. Denver’s star center dissected Oklahoma City’s defense with 10 points, five rebounds and four assists while Murray dazzled with his ball handling. Multiple times he found success taking his man off the dribble in one-on-one situations, pouring in 10 points and dishing five assists of his own.
Will Barton was an excellent secondary playmaker, and he finished with 11 points and three rebounds over the first two quarters.