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To say that the second-round matchup between the Denver Nuggets and the Portland Trail Blazers has gotten physical would be an understatement. So much so, that Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic joked that he leads the league in one particularly peculiar statistic — getting scratches.
“All year round,” he says, via Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “I have a long one here, a really big one from last year.
“I lead the league in scratches. I'm always bleeding — I'm used to it. I am going to wear sleeves next year — 100 percent.”
Jokic definitely always sees the lighter side of things, and in this particular instance, he is even able to laugh about the physical abuse he has been receiving all season long. Battling down low does have its drawbacks, and as indicated by 23-year-old here, this is just one of them.
Jokic took part in one of the most epic playoff games in recent memory, as his Nuggets fell to the Blazers, 140-137, after no less than four extra periods. That's a whopping 68 minutes of game action in total, which definitely goes beyond your typical NBA basketball game.
Jokic absolutely stuffed the stat sheet on Friday, accounting for 33 points (on 13-of-25 shooting), four three-pointers, 18 rebounds, 14 assists, a steal, two blocks, and eight (!) turnovers.
His efforts would practically amount to nothing, though, as Portland's backcourt duo of C.J. McCollum (41 points, four threes, eight rebounds), and Damian Lillard (28 points, eight assists) would prove to be too much to handle for the Nuggets.
The Blazers now lead the series 2-1, with a pivotal Game 4 in Portland scheduled for Sunday night.
