As we unwind the final few weeks of the period, the MVP race is actually warming up. And also if you think of these last 10-15 games as a final tryout for the leading prospects, Nikola Jokic nailed his component on Monday night.
The huge guy was amazing, completed with 47 factors, 15 rebounds and 8 helps to lead the Denver Nuggets to a dramatic double-overtime sway the Memphis Grizzlies, 139-137. In doing so, he became the first facility to set up 45-plus points, 15-plus rebounds as well as eight-plus aids in a video game considering that Hakeem Olajuwon back in 1996.
This one certainly wasn’t very easy, as the Nuggets needed to go on a 14-2 run over the final couple of mins of policy simply to expand the video game. At the end of the initial overtime, they shut on a 5-0 run to send out points to another additional framework. The conclusion of the 2nd overtime had not been fairly as significant, but even then they were linked with much less than a minute to play, before racking up the last 5 factors.
Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets ratings over Xavier Tillman of the Memphis Grizzlies throughout the second overtime.
As anticipated, Jokic was key in every one of those runs. He had six of their 14 points to shut the 4th quarter, consisting of two game-tying cost-free tosses with much less than 30 secs to play. He struck a vital mid-range jumper at the end of the initial overtime. And also with 42 seconds left in the 2nd overtime, he drained pipes a 3-pointer that put the Nuggets up for excellent.
Jokic has 47.
Nuggets by 3.
9.4 left in 2OT: https://t.co/Laecx0GSYx pic.twitter.com/3R0tJ3xANn
— NBA (@NBA) April 20, 2021
From the start of the Nuggets’ run late in the 4th quarter, through the end of the game, Jokic had 19 points, 3 rebounds and three assists on 8-of-13 from the field. The remainder of the Nuggets incorporated had 18 factors over the span. If that’s not an MVP-type declaration, what is?
As Nuggets train Michael Malone put it after the game, “Life is about a lot of little moments. I think Nikola has obtained concerning 56 moments where he should be the MVP.”
For the period, Jokic is now setting up a near triple-double at 26.4 points, 11.1 rebounds, 8.8 assists as well as 1.4 swipes per video game on 56.9/ 41.9/ 85.4 shooting divides. Save for the field goal portion, every one of those numbers is a career-high. His 47 factors versus the Grizzlies were likewise his 3rd game this period with at least 47 points. He had one such game in his previous five seasons combined.
A lot more important was that this large night was available in a win for the Nuggets, that have actually gotten better from Jamal Murray’s season-ending injury to win their last 3 games. They’re now 37-20 on the period, and all alone in 4th place in the Western Conference, with a two-game lead over the Los Angeles Lakers.