Each weekday, our DNVR Nuggets crew will be tackling one question about the Nuggets season in a round table format. Members, leave the questions that you’d like to see our writers answer in the comments section below and Harrison, Adam and Brendan will address them on an upcoming episode of the DNVR Nuggets Podcast.
What was the best individual performance from a Nugget this season?
Harrison Wind: Nikola Jokic’s 30-point, 21-rebound, 10-assist night against the Jazz
With only seven players available in Utah following the trade deadline against reigning Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert, the Nuggets were going to need an all-time performance from Nikola Jokic in order to get a win. That’s what Denver got.
Jokic became just the third player since the NBA-ABA merger (DeMarcus Cousins, David Lee) to post at least a 30-20-10 stat line and according to ESPN Stats and Info, Jokic joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the only players in NBA history (including playoffs) to tally 30 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists on the road before turning 25 years old.
Here’s Denver’s box score from that night. The Nuggets had just five of their top-10 rotation players available.
The Nuggets won 98-95 as Jokic toppled Gobert and the Jazz for the second time in less than a week. Thirteen of Jokic’s 14 field goals came with Gobert as his primary defender and down the stretch, Jokic was incredible, scoring nine points in the fourth quarter, six of which came over the final five minutes of play. Jokic sunk the game-winner that night — a fall-away 18-footer with Gobert draped all over him — with just under a minute to go in regulation courtesy of his signature Sombor Shuffle.
It was the best game I’ve seen Jokic play across his five-year career.
Brendan Vogt: Nikola Jokic’s 47-point, 8-rebound, 5-assist night against the Hawks
I think Harrison has the right answer here, but I’ll shake it up and shoutout his high-scoring night on the season. Jokić went into Atlanta on the sixth of January and dropped a career-high 47 points in 37 minutes on 64% from the field and 4-of-8 from deep.
Jokić punished Bruno Fernando inside early before working his way beyond the arc. After starting the season in an ice-cold shooting slump from deep, the Hawks dropped on Jokić, daring him to shoot. He made them pay early. Big Honey knocked down three bombs and a long mid-ranger in the first quarter, setting the tone for a relentless scoring performance.
Jokić was locked in, and the Hawks trotted out a battery of Fernando and Alex Len. That’s not going to get it done. He had the touch from every spot on the floor, looking like a 6’10 Larry Bird as he tore Atlanta apart.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPrPisP4ZdE
Adam Mares: Michael Porter Jr.’s 25 point game against the Pacers
The correct answer is Nikola Jokic’s opus against the Utah Jazz. That game should go down as one of the 5 best games of his career to date, especially given the circumstance. But since I am going 3rd on this round table, I’ll throw a wildcard out there and nominate Michael Porter Jr.’s first, and so far only, career start.
To set the stage, Porter hadn’t even broken into the rotation by the time his number was called on December 29th. One night before, he had gotten 18 minutes thanks to the Nuggets playing extremely shorthanded. He performed well in those minutes, scoring 11 points while making few enough mistakes on the defensive end for Michael Malone to extend his leash a little bit and give him the nod as the starting small forward.
Porter went off for 19 points on 8 of 10 shooting including a step back three, a putback dunk, and a series of nice dribble drive moves. The game tipped off an incredible month for Porter and solidified him as a top young prospect and key piece of the Nuggets now and going forward.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0cGytbgpIQ
