By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Kevin Durant reaffirmed his ranking of Nikola Jokic among the best players of all time, following a win for the Houston Rockets over the Denver Nuggets in Ball Arena on Saturday.
“You come in here and play a championship organization with arguably, in my opinion, one of the top 10 players, five players that I’ve ever seen play basketball,” mentioned the 37-year-old combo forward after the matinee game. “That’s how much respect I got for these dudes that I want to get up and bring that energy, bring that fight.”
“I love how he approaches the game,” he added. “A lot of people might disagree with me right now, but I feel we have a similar mentality on how we approach work, just the game itself. And I can sense that from afar. So I always have respect for him. I mean, when you accomplish what you accomplish in this league, gotta respect that.”
During the game, Durant was active in taunting the opponents, including actions leading to the ejection of Nuggets head coach, David Adelman, with 8:40 remaining in the fourth quarter, besides scoring 31 points in Denver.
“It’s good to see him pumped up a little bit,” said Jokic in a postgame press conference, approving the reaction of the 44-year-old play-caller. “I’m thankful he was on my side.”
Adelman was tossed for the first time in his coaching career after a second technical foul, with the first issued late in the first period.
“Honestly, I was confused. So, I was just looking for answers. I went out there to find them, and it turns out I had to leave,” he humorously described the situation. “Sometimes confusion can lead to destructive things, right? You’ve got to think things through yourself sometimes. You go to other people, and sometimes they just don’t want to hear you.”
After dropping a six-game winning streak, the Nuggets will be looking to bounce back with the Utah Jazz in Ball Arena on Monday.