It only took 3:45 for Nikola Jokic to pick up three fouls in the Denver Nuggets first game of the season. In those quick four minutes, Jokic hauled in three rebounds and scored zero points as he did not return to the game until the third quarter.
Michael Malone held Jokic out the entire first half in order to make sure he did not pick up his fourth foul of the game. Well, the strategy paid off as Jokic emerged from the halftime locker room ready to make his presence known.
In the opening minutes of the third quarter, Jokic got a layup to fall for his first points of the season. Jokic finished the third quarter with four points as he really turned it on once the fourth quarter began.
In the final 12 minutes of play, Jokic scored 16 points and drilled three shots from distance to help Denver walk out of Portland with a win. For the game, Jokic finished with a stat line of 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field, 3-of-5 from downtown, while also hauling in 13 rebounds to secure his first double-double of the season.
Jokic did all that in just 24 minutes of game time and here are the highlights to prove it!
