Nikola Jokic, the best basketball player in the world was at it again Sunday night at Ball Arena to help lead the Denver Nuggets to a somewhat improbable victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. The Nuggets once 21-point first quarter lead quickly evaporated and at one point Denver was down by as many as 11-points in the fourth quarter, but then Jokic took matters into his own hands.
Jokic went into the fourth quarter with 16 points, which quickly turned to 46 points when the final buzzer went off. That’s right, Jokic scored 30 points in the fourth quarter and overtime… THIRTY! In 17 minutes of game time, Jokic took over the game to help lead the Nuggets to their 38th victory of the season, snapping the Pelicans four-game winning streak in the process.
Not only did Jokic score 46 points on an incredibly efficient 16-of-22 shooting from the field, 3-of-5 from three, and 11-of-12 from the free-throw line, but he also recorded his 17th triple-double of the season due to his 12 rebounds and 11 assists. It was a masterclass performance by Jokic, who was a one man wrecking crew in the fourth quarter and overtime.
What also flew under the radar was Jokic hit two free-throws with 3.2 seconds remaining to tie the game and then proceeded to steal the ball, which gave the Nuggets a chance to win in regulation. Jeff Green came up just short of doing just that as Jokic did everything he could to end the game in the fourth quarter.
An unreal performance by Jokic as he added another notch to his MVP belt for this season. Jokic has played some unreal games this season, but Sunday night’s performance might have been his best this season. If Jokic can keep this up there is no doubt he should have a fantastic chance to win his second consecutive MVP award.
To watch all the highlights from Jokic’s big night, click the link below!
