By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
During the NBA Night, Nikola Jokic led the Denver Nuggets to a 125-113 win against the New Orleans Pelicans, winning the duel with Jonas Valanciunas by delivering the 12th triple-double of this year’s Regular Season.
The Serbian Joker won the clash with a performance of 27 points, 10 rebounds, and 14 assists. “We played a little bit faster, I think. We were the ones who were aggressive. We pushed the pace. I think that was the difference”, he commented after the victory, beating the Lithuanian center, who had 17 points and 6 rebounds in a sloppy shooting night with 5/11 from the field. However, he became the all-time Lithuanian scorer in the NBA with 10.978 points, surpassing Zydrunas Ilgauskas (10.976).
At the end of the first half, he also delivered an assist with a blind, behind-the-back, and over-his-head alley-oop pass to Aaron Gordon. “I didn’t imagine the behind-the-back, over-the-head pass. When you’re a young kid watching NBA basketball, that’s Magic Johnson, that’s “Pistol” Pete Maravich, the guys that just had this pizazz to their game”, Mike Malone shared after the game.
“Nikola [Jokic] can beat you a lot of ways and that was one of the best passes I’ve seen him make”, the Denver Nuggets head coach added. Nikola Jokic himself also commented on this play. “I just saw him in a blink of an eye, and I just wanted to pass to him as soon as I can. Because he’s open in that moment, not a moment after that. So, that was the quickest way to pass him the ball”, he said.
NBA Results and other European performances
Philadelphia 76ers – Sacramento Kings 112-93 (Sabonis 14 p, 12 r, 5 a; Vezenkov 2 p, 5 r; Batum 14 p, 5 r, 3 a)
Atlanta Hawks – Indiana Pacers 108-126 (Bogdan Bogdanovic 10 p, 5 r)
Detroit Pistons – Houston Rockets 110-112 (Sengun 29 p, 6 r; Hayes 5 p, 4 r, 8 a)
Miami Heat – Orlando Magic 99-96 (Bitadze 2 p, 9 r; Mo Wagner 19 p, 5 r, 4 a; Jovic 4 p, 3 r, 4 a)
Chicago Bulls – Golden State Warriors 131-140 (Vucevic 14 p, 7 r; Saric 12 p, 7 r, 6 a)
Memphis Grizzlies – Los Angeles Clippers 119-128 (Zubac 6 p, 11 r; 7 p, 5 r, 4 a)
Minnesota Timberwolves – Portland Trail Blazers 116-93 (Gobert 24 p, 17 r)
San Antonio Spurs – Charlotte Hornets 135-99 (Wembanyama 26 p, 11 r; Sochan 13 p, 6 r, 4 a; Osman 11 p)
Utah Jazz – Toronto Raptors 145-113 (Markkanen 22 p, 9 r; Fontecchio 13 p; Schroder 12 p)
Denver Nuggets – New Orleans Pelicans 125-113
Standings (via NBA.com)
Eastern Conference
| TEAM | W | L | WIN% | GB | CONF | DIV | HOME | ROAD | OT | LAST10 | STREAK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1
|
29 | 9 | .763 | — | 22-6 | 10-1 | 18-0 | 11-9 | 2-3 | 7-3 | L 1 |
| 2
|
26 | 12 | .684 | 3 | 21-10 | 6-5 | 17-4 | 9-8 | 1-1 | 5-5 | W 1 |
| 3
|
24 | 13 | .649 | 4.5 | 17-10 | 5-3 | 14-6 | 10-7 | 0-2 | 5-5 | W 1 |
| 4
|
23 | 15 | .605 | 6 | 20-11 | 9-2 | 13-8 | 10-7 | 0-0 | 9-1 | W 3 |
| 5
|
22 | 15 | .595 | 6.5 | 14-9 | 3-3 | 13-8 | 9-7 | 2-0 | 7-3 | W 4 |
| 6
|
22 | 16 | .579 | 7 | 16-9 | 4-3 | 11-4 | 11-12 | 0-0 | 6-4 | L 1 |
| 7
|
22 | 16 | .579 | 7 | 16-10 | 8-0 | 11-7 | 11-9 | 0-0 | 6-4 | W 1 |
| 8
|
21 | 17 | .553 | 8 | 15-10 | 5-3 | 13-5 | 8-12 | 1-1 | 4-6 | L 2 |
| 9
|
18 | 22 | .450 | 12 | 12-15 | 3-5 | 13-10 | 5-12 | 4-2 | 5-5 | L 1 |
| 10
|
16 | 22 | .421 | 13 | 13-12 | 1-4 | 10-9 | 6-13 | 0-2 | 3-7 | L 2 |
| 11
|
15 | 22 | .405 | 13.5 | 10-18 | 4-4 | 6-10 | 9-12 | 2-1 | 3-7 | L 1 |
| 12
|
15 | 24 | .385 | 14.5 | 9-17 | 0-9 | 9-9 | 6-15 | 1-1 | 4-6 | L 3 |
| 13
|
8 | 28 | .222 | 20 | 7-17 | 3-5 | 4-13 | 4-15 | 1-1 | 1-9 | L 4 |
| 14
|
6 | 31 | .162 | 22.5 | 4-25 | 1-9 | 3-13 | 3-18 | 0-0 | 1-9 | L 6 |
| 15
|
3 | 36 | .077 | 26.5 | 3-20 | 1-7 | 2-17 | 1-19 | 0-2 | 1-9 | L 7 |
Western Conference
| TEAM | W | L | WIN% | GB | CONF | DIV | HOME | ROAD | OT | LAST10 | STREAK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1
|
27 | 11 | .711 | — | 19-6 | 5-1 | 15-2 | 12-9 | 1-1 | 5-5 | W 1 |
| 2
|
26 | 11 | .703 | 0.5 | 15-8 | 6-2 | 15-5 | 11-6 | 2-0 | 8-2 | W 3 |
| 3
|
27 | 13 | .675 | 1 | 17-10 | 2-4 | 16-4 | 11-9 | 0-0 | 7-3 | W 1 |
| 4
|
25 | 13 | .658 | 2 | 19-10 | 6-3 | 16-4 | 9-9 | 0-1 | 8-2 | W 3 |
| 5
|
23 | 15 | .605 | 4 | 15-12 | 5-4 | 13-7 | 10-8 | 3-0 | 6-4 | L 1 |
| 6
|
23 | 16 | .590 | 4.5 | 17-13 | 6-4 | 12-8 | 11-8 | 0-0 | 6-4 | W 1 |
| 7
|
23 | 16 | .590 | 4.5 | 16-14 | 4-5 | 12-8 | 11-8 | 0-1 | 6-4 | L 1 |
| 8
|
20 | 18 | .526 | 7 | 13-14 | 4-7 | 11-11 | 9-7 | 2-0 | 6-4 | W 1 |
| 9
|
19 | 18 | .514 | 7.5 | 14-10 | 7-2 | 15-6 | 4-12 | 0-3 | 4-6 | W 1 |
| 10
|
20 | 20 | .500 | 8 | 11-15 | 4-5 | 13-5 | 7-15 | 2-1 | 8-2 | W 4 |
| 11
|
19 | 20 | .487 | 8.5 | 14-13 | 5-3 | 13-7 | 6-13 | 1-1 | 4-6 | L 1 |
| 12
|
18 | 20 | .474 | 9 | 11-16 | 3-6 | 11-11 | 7-9 | 1-2 | 4-6 | W 1 |
| 13
|
14 | 24 | .368 | 13 | 11-20 | 6-6 | 3-14 | 11-10 | 1-1 | 5-5 | L 1 |
| 14
|
10 | 28 | .263 | 17 | 5-22 | 1-6 | 5-11 | 5-17 | 2-2 | 3-7 | L 3 |
| 15
|
7 | 30 | .189 | 19.5 | 5-19 | 1-7 | 3-15 | 4-15 | 1-1 | 3-7 | W 2 |
PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images