By Antigoni Zachari / info@eurohoops.net
Nikola Jokic posted 24 points and 6 assists in 15 minutes in the Denver Nuggets‘ showdown against the Utah Jazz before exiting the game with a right knee contusion, after bumping onto Rudy Gobert.
The reigning MVP went down in pain holding his knee and had to be helped off the court with 1:54 remaining in the second quarter. Jokic then tested his knee during warmups for the second half but was unable to return to the game.
Despite the scare, Nuggets coach Michael Malone addressed the injury in his post-game press conference, stating that “I don’t think it’s anything too serious”.
“I went up to Nikola as he was warming up at halftime. I said, ‘How do you feel?’ He said ‘It feels a little weak’ and I just shut him down. I took the decision. It’s not his decision to make. He’s far too important to this team for us to risk him being out there if he’s not feeling confident about it”, said Malone.
The Jazz were able to come up on top in the end, beating the Nuggets 122-110, paced behind Rudy Gobert (23 points, 16 rebounds) and Donovan Mitchell (22 points).
Jokic’s status is expected to be updated as the Nuggets face the Dallas Mavericks on Friday.