The Denver Nuggets were pushed to the brink, but they managed to pull out a thrilling overtime victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday afternoon at Ball Arena. By no surprise, Nikola Jokic stole the show, helping lead this squad to a huge Game 1 win.

The Joker finished with an impressive statline of 29 points, 12 rebounds, and nine assists, shooting 50% from the field in the process. Social media erupted following Jokic's remarkable performance:

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Jokic always steps it up on the big stage, and Saturday was no different. He also had three steals and two blocks. Aaron Gordon did his part with 25 points, while Jamal Murray dropped 21 as well. Jokic did get a tech however for losing his cool at a referee.

The Nuggets exchanged blows with the Clippers all game long but took the advantage late in OT when Christian Braun drained a deep triple. Russell Westbrook then came up big, forcing a turnover to seal the deal.

Nikola Jokic continues to prove why he's arguably the best player in the world. While he may lose the MVP award to Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, that doesn't take away from his wild numbers. The Joker finished the regular season with averages of 29.6 points, 12.7 boards, and 10.2 dimes.

Denver may not be seen as a clear title contender, but the West is relatively wide open. The Thunder are certainly the team with the target on their backs and the Nuggets have the experience to get past them if it came down to those two teams meeting up at some point. That would also be an epic battle between Jokic and SGA.

The Nuggets have a day off before Game 2 against the Clippers on Monday. We'll see if Jokic can erupt again. To be brutally honest, nobody in the league can truly slow him down, so another monster showing is very much possible for the three-time MVP.