Denver Nuggets came away with a 130-128 OT win over the Los Angeles Clippers in a very entertaining game, where Nikola Jokic exploded for a 49-point triple-double to lead his team. Denver’s head coach Michael Malone had nothing but praise for the 2021 MVP after the contest.
“That was an incredible game,” Malone said in the post-game presser. “You tell me. If Nikola Jokic isn’t the MVP, then who is?”.
Jokic recorded his tenth assists with 2.2 seconds remaining in the clock, when he passed the ball out of a double-team to Aaron Gordon in the corner. The Nuggets forward made the three and gave his team the lead and eventually the victory.
“That guy can beat you with his passing, his scoring, his rebounding, and that last pass to Aaron not only wins the game but gives him his 10th assist on the night,” Malone continue with the praising remarks.
The Clippers tried to counter-react against Jokic by going small, however, he had the answers against Tyronn Lue’s defensive schemes. Jokic scored 11 of his 49 points in the OT, finishing the contest with 14 rebounds and 10 assists.
“It’s not just the Clippers,” Malone said. “Every team that we’ve played has gone small, switched everything, tried to front him, so this is not unique to the Clippers. It is really a league-wide mandate in guarding Nikola.”
Jokic recorded his third consecutive triple-double and his tenth for the season, while the Nuggets improved to 23-20 with Wednesday’s win and they ranked sixth in the tough Western Conference two games ahead of the 7th and 8th seed..
