Nikola Jokic wills Nuggets to win over Clippers

On a team so deep with no All-Star, it’s hard to believe that one player can mean so much.

Yet, for the Denver Nuggets in their 106-102 win over the Los Angeles Clippers, Nikola Jokic proved once and for all, that he’s all that.

Jokic, who’s been plagued by foul trouble this season, had scored 14 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, dished out 4 assists, and recorded 2 steals until he picked up his fourth foul, an inexplicable one, 93 feet from the basket, with roughly four minutes to go in the third quarter. At that point, the Nuggets led 76-66.

What followed was an immediate 11-3 Clippers run as Los Angeles outscored Denver 31-16 in the third quarter and the Nuggets saw their 17-point halftime lead evaporate in a matter of minutes.

Eventually, Jokic was able to return to the floor in the fourth, and lead Denver on a late 9-0 run to put the Nuggets up five with two minutes remaining as Denver was somehow able to hold onto the victory.

Jokic finished with 24 points, ten rebounds, four assists, three steals, and recorded a +17 plus-minus on the night.

Danilo Gallinari chipped in his second-straight double-double; 23 points and 11 rebounds, while Will Barton came off the bench to chip in 23 points on 8-14 shooting in 32 minutes.

Ironically, the Nuggets looked in control during the first half.

Denver outscored Los Angeles 40-23 in the second quarter, went 14-17 from the field and 4-6 from three. The Nuggets held the Clippers to 38.1 percent shooting in the quarter and held a 10-4 rebounding edge.

Barton scored 14 points in the frame alone and was a key cog during Denver’s 16-2 run towards the end of the quarter, Jokic had eight, and Gallinari had seven, as Denver scored ten of their 19 fastbreak points of the night in that quarter.

However, the game got close again after halftime due to a 10-0 Clippers run to start the third, Jokic picked up his fourth foul, things got close again for Denver and the Nuggets seemingly waited on Michael Malone to re-insert Jokic in the fourth.

For Los Angeles, Jamal Crawford led the way with 24 points and Austin Rivers chipped in 19.

DeAndre Jordan, who on paper should dominate Denver’s frontline was limited to 12 points and 11 rebounds.

What’s Next

Denver comes home for two games, against Minnesota Wednesday and Philadelphia Friday.