By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
The Denver Nuggets secured their third straight win at the start of the 2023/24 season, with Nikola Jokic picking up right where he left off in the NBA finals.
The Serbian center notched his third straight double-double and led the Colorado team to a blowout 128-95 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on the road.
Jokic finished the game in the third quarter, managing to score 28 points with 14 rebounds and five assists, shooting 12/15 from the field in less than 30 minutes. He left the court with his team leading 97-75 after 36 minutes of play and remained on the bench for the final period, as the game was already out of reach.
Jokić beats the Q2 buzzer 🚨
He’s got 22 PTS, 9 REB, and 4 AST at the half! pic.twitter.com/H6NoMtOJdH
— NBA TV (@NBATV) October 29, 2023
The 2021 and 2022 NBA MVP recorded his 103rd 25/10/5 game since 2020, most in the NBA.
Jokic was followed by Michael Porter Jr., who scored 20 points. Jamal Murray added 19 points, Payton Watson 17, while Christian Braun had an all-around game with 13 points, seven rebounds, and assists.
For Oklahoma, who suffered their first defeat of the season, two of Jokic’s compatriots took the field, but failed to impress. Former EuroLeague MVP Vasilije Micic played 14 minutes and recorded two points with three assists, while Aleksej Pokusevski got just a point and a rebound for the same playing time.
OKC didn’t need another 6-5 ballhandler when they got Micic, but on SGA’s off night, the Thunder have yet another option to put Jokic in a PnR
Jokic is now in Up to Touch coverage (his, I think, 4th diff coverage), and Chet scores over the tagger pic.twitter.com/N0ShX7JVdC
— Bowser2Bowser (@bowser2bowser) October 29, 2023
Two Frenchmen also played for the losing side, with Ousmane Dieng scoring five points with five boards, while Olivier Sarr remained scoreless in five and a half minutes.
The top scorer in Oklahoma’s first loss was Chet Holmgren with 19 points. Jalen Williams added 13, Tre Mann 12, and Lu Dort 10 points.