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On the health side, the three-time MVP endured the first major injury of his NBA career. He missed 16 games in late December\/January with a hyperextended left knee. The team went 10-6 in his absence.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s not a difficult year, but an inconsistent year, with the injuries, with the lineups, with everything,\u201d explained Jokic, who averaged a triple-double (27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds and 10.7 assists) for a second straight season. \u201cWe still managed to be one of the top teams. That\u2019s something telling about this team, and the group that we have in the locker room. We definitely show ourselves that we can answer to anything, and hopefully we\u2019re going find a way and in the playoffs when the moment is big.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Nuggets enter with a wave of confidence, too, riding a 12-game winning streak. Ask him about it and his humor shines through.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s definitely better than a 12-game losing streak,\u201d Jokic said. \u201cWhen you\u2019re playing well, everybody\u2019s feeling good.\u201d<\/p>\n
A point guard at center<\/p>\n
Jokic notched 34 triple-doubles in 65 games this season. That includes a memorable performance on Christmas Day against the Timberwolves, when he erupted for 56 points, 16 rebounds and 15 assists in a 142-138 overtime win.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019ll probably take a little bit of everything,” Timberwolves forward Julius Randle said of guarding Jokic. \u201cProbably got to call God and talk to him for a little bit and ask him for a few favors. … He\u2019s an incredible player. He does so much on the floor for that team.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 6-foot-11, 284-pound Jokic sees the floor through the prism of a point guard, with low-post moves few can stop and range extending past the 3-point line.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a joy to watch,” said San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson, whose team could face the Nuggets in the second round. \u201cHe\u2019s just so unique in so many ways.\u201d<\/p>\n
His teammates insist they don’t take Jokic’s production night in and night out for granted. Jokic’s 198 career triple-doubles trail only former teammate Russell Westbrook (209). Jokic’s 21 postseason triple-doubles are behind only Magic Johnson (30) and LeBron James (28).<\/p>\n
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\u201cNothing has shocked me this year,\u201d said teammate Christian Braun, who was a rookie when the Nuggets won the franchise’s first NBA title in 2023. \u201cBut that\u2019s probably not the right way to say it. Everything (Jokic) does shocks me. Every time I watch him, he shocks me.”<\/p>\n
Close call<\/p>\n
The Nuggets exhaled in relief when they found out Jokic would only miss a few weeks after being hurt in Miami on Dec. 29. It was a scary scene: Jokic falling to the floor and grabbing at his knee after stepping on Spencer Jones\u2019 foot.<\/p>\n
Since his return on Jan. 30, he’s missed one game. That run of good health allowed him to reach the 65-game threshold and become eligible for awards.<\/p>\n
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\u201cHe\u2019s in a great place,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said, “physically and mentally.\u201d<\/p>\n
Getting everyone involved<\/p>\n
Jokic’s hallmark is getting everyone involved. It might be a pass to Cam Johnson on the wing or setting picks to spring Jamal Murray for a drive or finding Aaron Gordon for an open look.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need everybody,\u201d Jokic explained. \u201cEverybody needs to step up.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Adelman remains perplexed as to why Jokic doesn’t receive more MVP buzz. The current odds favor Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to win again.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would say what stands out to me is how much he has not been talked about,\u201d Adelman said. \u201cI think it\u2019s absolutely insane. I have no idea what the narrative is and why.”<\/p>\n
Jokic has certainly earned the respect of Minnesota big man Rudy Gobert.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever he does, he plays to win. He\u2019s selfless,” Gobert said. “He\u2019s just here to show up, help his team win and go home. I like that. I respect that.\u201d<\/p>\n
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AP Sports Writer Dave Campbell in Minneapolis and Associated Press freelance writer Raul Dominguez in San Antonio contributed to this report.<\/p>\n
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AP NBA: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/NBA<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) runs up court during the first half of an NBA basketball game…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":610933,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[3891,20453,64,63,3893,1663,3896,3901,74678,7896,34411,158530,590,3906,296881,146000,146002,145996,277778,145998,286768,60872,10113,12841,82339,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-610932","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-aaron-gordon","9":"tag-anthony-edwards","10":"tag-au","11":"tag-australia","12":"tag-cam-johnson","13":"tag-christian-braun","14":"tag-david-adelman","15":"tag-jamal-murray","16":"tag-julius-randle","17":"tag-lebron-james","18":"tag-magic-johnson","19":"tag-mitch-johnson","20":"tag-nba","21":"tag-nikola-jokic","22":"tag-nikola-jokic-nuggets-nba-playoffs","23":"tag-package-100024-ap-online","24":"tag-package-100502-member-choice-sports-option","25":"tag-product-30599-ap-sports-news-s-wire-only","26":"tag-product-32001-ap-online-basketball-news","27":"tag-product-32562-ap-online-other-sports-news","28":"tag-product-40777-ap-colorado-sports-only","29":"tag-rudy-gobert","30":"tag-russell-westbrook","31":"tag-shai-gilgeous-alexander","32":"tag-spencer-jones","33":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/610932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=610932"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/610932\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/610933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=610932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=610932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=610932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}