There was simply nothing that could stop Nikola Jokic on the basketball court Wednesday night. With the Denver Nuggets playing the Los Angeles Clippers on the road in Inglewood, the Serbian big man almost singlehandedly defeated the host team, as he scored 55 points on 18-for-23 shooting from the field.
He added 12 rebounds and six assists with a steal and a block. What makes his incredible performance even more impressive is the fact that he only played for 34 minutes. Jokic got nearly everything he wanted in the game, as he repeatedly torched the Clippers' defense, even going 5-for-6 from behind the arc. In addition, the three-time NBA Most Valuable Player shot 14-for-16 from the line.
Although that was not the first time that Jokic scored a ton of points in a game, it was the only contest so far in which the Nuggets did not waste a 50-plus points effort from the seven-time NBA All-Star, according to ESPN Insights.
Jokic had scored at least 50 points in a contest three times before his eruption versus the Clippers. He had 50 points in a 2021 game against the Sacramento Kings, 56 opposite the Washington Wizards in 2024, and more recently, lit up the Minnesota Timberwolves for a career-high 61 points in a double-overtime marathon versus the Minnesota Timberwolves in April.
However, all those 167 points combined went for naught, as the Nuggets lost in every one of those games.
It was different this time around, as the Nuggets trampled on Los Angeles. Apart from Jokic, Denver also got solid contributions from Aaron Gordon, who finished with 18 points. Jamal Murray scored 15 points, while Tim Hardaway Jr. came off the bench and chipped in 12 points for the Nuggets, who extended their win streak to six games and improved their record to 9-2.
Coming up next for the Nuggets is a rematch against the Timberwolves this Saturday in the Twin Cities. Denver beat the Timberwolves on Oct. 28 on the road, 127-114.
