It’s a pass we’ll remember forever.
Where were you when Nikola Jokic fired the fading-away, one-handed, one-footed, over-the-head missile that hit Aaron Gordon standing nearly 50-feet away on the opposite side of the floor square in the numbers?
At home sitting on your couch, or probably standing? At a bar with friends? If you were lucky, really, really lucky, you saw it live.
Jokic’s 10th assist of the night, which moved him past Andre Miller for 3rd place on the Nuggets all-time assist leaderboard and gave the reigning MVP his NBA-leading 10th triple-double of the season and the 67th of his career, is the greatest pass I’ve ever seen live. Jokic has executed more difficult passes in his career. He’s had flashier dimes. But this pass, leading to the game-winner, in the final seconds of overtime, to cap a 49-point game where Jokic scored or assisted on 25 of Denver’s last 27 points of the game, is his best ever given the circumstances.
“There was a time difference between the clock and the shot clock. They just gave me the ball and I just wanted to take my time to give them as less time as possible,” Jokic said breaking down every single cut, action and movement from Gordon’s game-winning 3 from memory. “Coffey came to double-team me. Will Barton pulled in front of me. Jeff was in the dunker. Monte was cutting from the slot. He was in the lane. He brought I think Terance Man. AG was wide open in the corner.”
“I kind of make those passes on a regular basis. It’s a normal pass.”
Nikola Jokic on this pass: “I kind of make those passes on a regular basis. It’s a normal pass.”pic.twitter.com/8wyRvadi7j
— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) January 20, 2022
Normal is the furthest word from what this pass was. It’s a pass that no one else on this planet can make. It’s one that few would even attempt. It’s audacious and daring. It’s bold. It’s fearless.
Credit Monte Morris for his timely cut into the lane as the Clippers closed in on Jokic. It’s a counter to the Clippers’ double-teaming defense and something Denver had gone over in detail over the last few days. Morris’ cut caused Brandon Boston Jr. to take a couple of steps into the paint. With Jeff Green occupying Reggie Jackson under the rim, it gave Jokic the opening he needed to hit Gordon in the far corner.
“They double-teamed,” Jokic said. “And I think I made a good basketball play.”
The Nuggets’ 130-128 overtime win over the Clippers was arguably the most dominant game Jokic has ever played. He went for 49 points on 16-25 shooting. He sunk 14 of a season-high 16 free-throw attempts. He navigated double and triple-teams all night long and played through contact on almost every play.
“You guys understand how much attention that he’s getting on the defensive end?” Malone asked postgame. “This guy is getting double and triple-teamed every night. He had 49 points tonight getting double and triple-teamed. I feel really fortunate as a head coach to have the opportunity to coach a player like that, not just because of the talent but because of who he is as a man.”
After Malone dropped F-bomb after F-bomb in an early third-quarter huddle following the Clippers’ 8-6 run to open the second half, Jokic and his teammates shifted into another gear and took control. In an all-time classic of a third quarter, Jokic tallied 17 points (5-6 FG’s, 2-2 3FG’s, 5-5 FT’s), 6 rebounds and 3 assists.
Jokic scored nine points in the fourth but missed the potential game-winning jumper from the left baseline at the end of regulation. He made up for it by scoring 11 of the Nuggets’ 16 points in OT and assisting Gordon on his game-winner.
“Bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep,” Malone responded when I asked him what his magic words were during that pivotal early third-quarter huddle. “Sometimes you’ve got to do that. I think people don’t realize when you’re a head coach, you can’t be afraid to be an asshole. You can’t be afraid to jump guys. You can’t do it every day. It’s a long season. But in that moment, they had scored literally four layups to start that third quarter. And I challenged them.”
The Nuggets have won three of their last four games. Without a disastrous two-minute stretch from their bench to open the fourth quarter vs. Utah, Denver could be riding a four-game winning streak right now.
The MVP is significantly better than he was last season when he won the league’s Most Valuable Player award going away. He’s the best and the most valuable player in the NBA again this season.
“If Nikola Jokic isn’t the MVP, then who is?” said Malone.
Enjoy it. Cherish it. This is a special season from one of the greats.
One final note from an all-time performance: Jokic had a special guest in town vs. the Clippers, his mother straight from Serbia. She got to Denver Wednesday. Maybe that was the secret ingredient to Jokic’s romp at Ball Arena.
Home-cooked Fish Stew is always good for the soul.
