As expected, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic was a massive headache for the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of the 2023 NBA Western Conference Finals. Jokic nearly got everything he wanted during the game, as he stuffed the stat sheet yet again. His performance in Tuesday's 132-126 home win over the Lakers had former NBA star big man Dwight Howard sending out an interesting tweet as an apparent reaction to the havoc wreaked by the Serbian on the court.
“Only one person can stop the joker and I ain’t talking bout batman 😎,” Howard said. He was likely referring to his persona as the NBA's Superman in that tweet, thinking that the Lakers need him to slow down Jokic. Stopping Nikola Jokic is almost an impossibility, but keeping him in check remains doable for the Lakers.
In the series opener versus the Lakers, Jokic racked up a team-high 34 points while connecting on 12 of 17 attempts from the field, 21 rebounds, and 14 assists in 42 minutes. He also drained all three of his shots from behind the arc. The Lakers, however, were also able to draw a huge performance from their big man, Anthony Davis, who came up with 40 points on 13-for-23 shooting, 10 rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks.
Howard did have experience matching up against Nikola Jokic in the playoffs, as he was part of the Lakers' bubble team that defeated the Nuggets in five games in the 2020 Western Conference Finals.
Game 2 of the Lakers-Nuggets series will take place on Thursday at Ball Arena.
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