By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Nikola Jokic suffered a left knee injury in the last play of the first half and did not return for the Denver Nuggets in a loss, 147-123, to the Miami Heat in Kaseya Center.
The 30-year-old Serbian center hyperextended his knee and fell to the floor after his teammate Spencer Jones accidentally stepped on his foot. With the medical staff immediately to his aid, he limped to the locker room and was eventually ruled out for the rest of Monday’s game. On Tuesday, he will undergo an MRI.
“All I know is that Jokic has a left knee injury and he needs to go through the process of what it is,” confirmed head coach David Adelman in a postgame press conference. “We’ll find out more tomorrow and move on as a team. I’m more concerned about him as a person and the disappointment of going through something like this.”
Stopped at 19:21, Jokic logged 21 points, eight assists, and five rebounds. Lithuanian teammate Jonas Valanciunas made 3/3 over 15:41 en route to six points, four rebounds, one block, and one assist.
On the winning side, Swedish Pelle Larsson sustained a right ankle sprain, a few days after returning from a stint on the injury list due to a left ankle sprain. He lasted 15:24 against the Nuggets, tallying three points and two rebounds.
Erik Spoelstra’s side improved to 18-15 in the 2025-26 NBA Regular Season, reducing the Nuggets to 22-10, with Serbian Nikola Jovic scoring 22 points on 7/12 field goals, including five three-pointers. Over 25:54, he added five assists and four rebounds.
“It is good to go up against him. He is the best player in the world right now, the best player ever coming from Serbia. So, he means something to me. We look up to him, us people from Serbia, especially basketball players. So, I kind of want to play good against him and that way kind of show the respect,” said the 22-year-old forward after the win, describing the challenge of facing the Joker.
Fellow European reserves, Italian Simone Fontecchio chipped in three points and Lithuanian Kasparas Jakucionis grabbed one rebound over 3:27. In contrast, Russian Vladislav Goldin remained on assignment with the G League affiliate, Sioux Falls Skyforce.
Meanwhile, Turkish Alperen Sengun missed a second straight game due to a left soleus strain, but the head coach of the Houston Rockets, Ime Udoka, labeled the injury as short-term in a pregame press conference, before leading his side to a 126-119 victory versus the Indiana Pacers in Toyota Center. Swiss Clint Capela contributed six points, seven rebounds, and one assist in 13:20.