Admit it. Some of you turned the game off. That’s okay – it’s a perfectly reasonable thing to do when the Denver Nuggets were down 17 in the fourth quarter to the Milwaukee Bucks. But if you did, you missed an epic comeback, Giannis Antetokounmpo fouling out, Jamal Murray nailing three free throws in the final seconds of regulation… and Nikola Jokic putting his mark on the game again. In fact, here’s a little recap video of the last few seconds before overtime, where Jokic almost made the overtime period unnecessary:
It’s nice to see other teams struggling during crucial end-game moments for once. Together with Paul Millsap, Jokic has keyed the last two overtime wins by the Nuggets during a desperate scramble to make the playoffs. After a 35 point, 13 rebound and 5 assist performance (with 3 blocks thrown in for good measure) Jokic is averaging more than 18 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists per game this year. Only five players have ever done that: Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Bird, Kevin Garnett, Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook. Jokic would be the sixth, and the only one to do it as efficiently (.550+ eFG%) is Wilt. Jokic has had an incredible season and is trying to will the team into the playoffs down the stretch – as great players do. Denver needed him, and Jokic delivered.
Here’s hoping he can help stretch Denver’s season out a little longer and give us a few more games like this one to enjoy.
