By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
In the second half of a back-to-back, Nikola Jokic scored 55 points, a new personal best in the 2025-26 NBA Regular Season, pushing the Denver Nuggets to a 130-116 victory versus the Los Angeles Clippers in Intuit Dome on Wednesday.
The 30-year-old Serbian center started with 25 points in the first quarter, went into eight in the second, and 19 in the third, before checking in for three more in the fourth. He ended up with 18/23 field goals, including 5/6 from beyond the arc, alongside 12 rebounds, six assists, one block, and one steal over 33:34.
“We had a tough game yesterday. Two away games back-to-back. Especially coming here, against a desperate team that wanted to play really hard and win, I think we played, like we say, a professional game. We really controlled the game. And that third quarter was amazing for us,” the Joker mentioned in a postgame interview.
Lithuanian reserve Jonas Valanciunas logged 10:57 with eight points, three rebounds, one block, and one assist. For the hosts, Croatian Ivica Zubac registered 18 points, Serbian Bogdan Bogdanovic 11 points, and French Nicolas Batum six points. In contrast, Swiss Yanic Konan Niederhauser was inactive.
Thunder crush Doncic
In Paycom Center, Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers fell, 121-92, to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Slovenian superstar finished with 19 points, seven assists, seven rebounds, and two steals, with German Maxi Kleber at three points, four rebounds, and one steal.
European action for the defending champions went from the starting lineup, featuring Belgian Ajay Mitchell and German Isaiah Hartenstein, who produced 14 and 11 points, respectively. The team also received ten points from French Ousmane Dieng off the bench. Serbian Nikola Topic (testicular cancer treatment) remained unavailable.