The start of the season for the Denver Nuggets has been a great one. The Nuggets are now 9-2 and only losses have been to the Warriors and somehow the Blazers.
Last night they played the Los Angeles Clippers and had a great game. They won 130-116 and they looked in control from the opening tip. The Clippers still had most of their lineup healthy, besides Kawhi and newly injured Bradley Beal who is out for the season. The game started out close but the Nuggets started to pull away in the second half and hold a healthy lead.
The star of the game was Nikola Jokic. Jokic had a 55 point game with 12 rebounds and 6 assists. This game matches Shai Gilgeous Alexander for the most points scored in a single game this season. This was also only on six free throw attempts compared to Shai’s 26 free throw attempts when he scored 55. Jokic was very efficient and shot 78 from the field for the night and shot 5-6 from deep. All of this on 29 minutes for the night. That is almost two points a minute for the big man. This was a huge game on a great defender in Ivica Zubac who is the best matchup against Jokic in the west.
This season Jokic is averaging 35 points 12 rebounds and 11 assist per game so far. This should be the clear MVP of the league but in the east Giannis Antetokounmpo is making a strong case for himself as he is averaging 32 11 and 6. Jokic is doing all of this while playing less than 35 minutes a game getting much needed rest in the regular season from his bench. Everyone is contributing and having their own times to shine. However Jokic is the most consistent player and is delivering 30 point triple doubles almost every night.
