Nikola Jokic led the Denver Nuggets to a massive 90-86 Game 7 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night. The win propelled the Nuggets to their first playoff series win since 2009.
Jokic had another one of his dominant all-around games, and notched his second playoff career triple double. He finished with 21 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists to
Per NBA Stats on Twitter, Jokic became just the second player in NBA history to notch such a line in a seventh and deciding Game for-all-the-marbles.
The first player to do so was James Worthy. The Los Angeles Lakers legend had an insane 36-point, 15-rebound, 10-assist triple-double to lead the Showtime Lakers to an NBA championship win nearly 21 years ago.
Nikola Jokic led the @nuggets in Game 7 win with 21 PTS, 15 REB, and 10 AST. The only other NBA player to match or exceed all of those totals in a Game 7 was James Worthy on June 21, 1988 (36 PTS, 16 REB, 10 AST). pic.twitter.com/Lj4i7mx4Kc
— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) April 28, 2019
While Worthy's was more impressive given the magnitude of the stakes and the point total, nothing should be taken away from Jokic's magnificent evening.
A Game 7 is no joke, whether it happens in the opening round or in the Finals.
This was, in fact, Jokic's first taste of the poatseason, and there's certainly a ton of pressure on his part going into a Game 7 as the franchise cornerstone of a young team that returned to the playoffs after six years. With all those circumstances, Jokic was still able to play at the highest level, and it showed with his historic performance.
Despite the triple-double, Jokic did have a rough night shooting the ball, going just 9-of-26 from the field. Nevertheless, his all-around performance still helped lead Denver to its first playoff series win in 10 years.
Follow Us
Subscribe