The Denver Nuggets are in control in the Western Conference semifinal series with the Minnesota Timberwolves. On Tuesday, what we saw from Nikola Jokic of Sombor, Serbia, the NBA’s most valuable player, was simply sensational. Jokic had a game for the ages, as he had 40 points, 13 assists and zero turnovers in a 112-97 Nuggets win over the Minnesota Timberwolves at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. With the win, the Nuggets have now taken a three games to two lead over the Timberwolves in the Western Conference semifinals. Denver has won the last three games of the series after losing the first two at home.
According to Matthew Huff of The Sports Daily, Jokic only became the second player ever in National Basketball Association history to have 40 points, 10 assists and zero turnovers in a postseason game. The only other player to accomplish the feat was point guard Chris Paul of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Paul had 41 points, 10 assists and zero turnovers for the Houston Rockets in a 112-102 Houston win over the Utah Jazz in game five of the 2018 Western Conference Semifinal series on May 8, 2018. With the win, the Rockets won the series four games to one.
In the 2024 NBA playoffs, Jokic is averaging 28.8 points per game, 13.3 rebounds per game, and a NBA playoff high 9.5 assists per game. The fact that a center leads the NBA in assists per game this deep into the postseason is quite frankly stunning. Game six of the series now shifts to Minnesota on Thursday with the Nuggets having a chance to close things out.
