Well That Was A Spectacular, Historic Game From Nikola Jokic

The Denver Nuggets have this acutely entertaining habit of hanging one million or so points on their opponents, and nobody is more central to that sort of offensive eruption than Serbian center Nikola Jokic. And tonight’s 134-123 thriller against the Bucks showed exactly why, as Jokic had one of the best games of his career.

Jokic locked down a triple-double in the first half, and it was not only the earliest triple double of the past 20 seasons, it was the fastest triple-double in NBA history by a large margin.

The large Serbian helped himself to 30 points, 15 rebounds, and 17 assists, making him only the third NBA player ever to notch a 30-15-17 game. Jokic’s passing, a huge reason why Denver has the NBA’s sixth-best offense, helped the Nuggets tie a franchise record with 24 threes. Even his most mundane assists are impressive, as he always seems to stick them right in the hands of his shooters. As for the spectacular ones, well:

Opposite Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo had a 36-point, 11-rebound, 13-assist night, making the pair the first duo to get 30-10-10 triple doubles in the same game in 53 years. But Jokic got the win, so he got the beverage bath and a cool hat.

The Nuggets should keep scoring 134 points per game, in my opinion.