Jokic turned in 35 points on 16-of-24 shooting to go along with 16 rebounds, six assists and five steals against the Grizzlies.
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Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic made NBA history in his team’s 122-109 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday. In the process of helping lead his team to the victory, Jokic became the first player in NBA history to record 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, and 500 assists in a single season.
Jokic turned in 35 points on 16-of-24 shooting to go along with 16 rebounds, six assists and five steals against the Grizzlies. He put up those stats in a somewhat unconventional manner, too.
Jokic took an inadvertent elbow to the forehead from Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. in the opening minute of the contest. For his troubles, Jokic had return to the bench on multiple occasions to stop the bleeding and even had to wear a red headband throughout the game.
Then, the Nuggets center was actually taken out of the game when his team had a double-digit advantage, but had to return after the Grizzlies clawed their way back into the contest.
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With the win, the Nuggets clinched their fourth consecutive playoff berth.
“The MVP isn’t even a competition,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said following Jokic’s history-making performance, according to ESPN. “There’s other great players. I’m not saying they’re not great players. But what Nikola Jokic has done this year — with this team, everything we’ve had to go through — is just incredible. He was good last year, and he’s even better this year.”
The Nuggets are currently the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference playoff race, despite missing star players Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. this season. Denver officially clinched a top-six seed in the playoffs, which means they’ll avoid the four-team play-in tournament that begins later this month at the conclusion of the regular season.
Jokic is averaging 27.1 points, 13.8 rebounds and 7.9 assists while shooting 33.7 percent from three this season. The Nuggets center also ranks in the top 10 in points, rebounds and assists.
