Nikola Jokic plagued Washington Wizards three months ago and his impressive effort did not even result in a victory.
Since his career high 56 points ended in defeat, jocian numbers to pack lots of motivation when Denver Nuggets is worth the magician on Saturday night.
Jokic made 22 out of 39 field target attempts and collected 16 returns and eight assists, but his one-man dominance ended with a setback of 122-113 on December 7.
Jokic’s point efforts were the second best in Nugget’s history behind David Thompson’s memorable 73-point excursion on the last day of the 1977-78 season. Thompson offers the score title but finished in second place because George Gervin made 63 for San Antonio Spurs later that day.
Nothing bigger was at stake but Lowt Washington was proud of the result.
Jordan Poole made a career best nine 3 points and got 39 points in the competition when Wizards snapped a six-game skid in the series.
Nugget’s coach Michael Malone has not forgotten what happened in DC
“They already hit us,” Malone said after Friday’s victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. “Even though we won 40 or lost by 40, Washington already struck us. If there is anything,” Oh, we have these guys ” – that’s what we thought last time and they beat us.
“When you play against a team that has already beaten you, it should be all the attention you need to go into the game, in my opinion.”
Washington rested Friday night in Denver while Nuggets (43-24) fought with Lakers for a 131-126 home victory.
The point was tied at 126 when Jamal Murray buried a 3-point with 5.6 seconds left. Murray had 26 points.
Jokic scored 28 points and Christian Braun added 22.
Malone was dissatisfied with the competition against a brief Los Angeles team that lacked Lebron James and Luka Doncic, among others.
“This is not a beauty contest,” Malone said. “We are not allowed to rank on our profits. It’s a win.”
One thing that disturbed Malone was that Jokic and Murray only took 16 shots per piece.
“I got the two guys 20 to 25 shots per match, light,” Malone said. “It’s no respect for anyone else. We need these guys to carry the offensive load.”
Saturday’s competition will be Denver fifth in seven nights.
League-Vorse Washington (14-51) has played well recently by going 5-4 during their last nine matches.
The magicians shared a series of two games in Detroit and took the latter 129-125 on Thursday. Washington surpassed Pistons 33-24 during the last quarter.
“Guys just got up,” said Washington coach Brian Keefe. “Everyone supported each other. Whoever is out there, got it done. … guys rose when their opportunity was there. It’s fantastic.”
Seven sorcerers made between 14 and 19 points in a truly balanced effort.
Alex Sarr had team heights of 19 points and four blocked shots and he also got the prominent can with 53.6 seconds to play.
Poole and Justin Champagnie scored 17 points per piece and Khris Middleton and Bub Carrington each put a 16. Marcus Smart had 15 points and Corey Kispert added 14.
Carrington said that Tuesday’s loss of 123-103 to the piston was a motivating factor.
“It’s a mixture of discipline and individual pride,” Carrington said. “We knew we had to maintain our intensity.”
-Field level media
