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The MVP of the night | Nikola Jokic will wait to overtake Magic Johnson

Pray“. This is Mike Malone's response on the sidelines when the TNT journalist asks him how he prepares to leave Nikola Jokic on the bench to rest it. It was in the 2nd quarter, and we know that the Nuggets sink in the first half when the “Joker” rests. Confirmation last night since the Nuggets posted a negative differential of -19 when Jokic rested. But… this time, the Nuggets managed to overthrow the Warriors to win 119-115.

At their head, Jokic was again immense with 38 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals. No triple-double for the three-time MVP, whose counter remains stuck at 138, like Magic Johnson. Incidentally, this is his 3rd game with 35 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals. Only James Harden and Larry Bird have done as well in history.

In the match itself, the Serb behaved like a boss in the “money time” to sign a 14-2. “When we finish a game 14-2, it means we made saves, executed the systems well and scored.” explains Mike Malone. “And Nikola knows that when it comes to the end of the match, he will raise his level of play.”

Why does he score so many points?

This is what he will actually do with a mid-distance basket 80 seconds from the end, in front of Stephen Curry, to give the Nuggets the advantage. Then, it's him, who makes his free throws to cool the Warriors. Over this period, Jokic scored 9 of his team's 14 points, and he delivered an assist.

“We made some big saves, especially at the end. Maybe we forced them to take difficult and contested shots.” Jokic analysisabout this hold-up. “I think the defense was good in these last minutes, and that's why we won… We still conceded 115 points. These last matches, we conceded on average 120 or 119 points. But we did some great things in key moments, especially in defense, and maybe that shows the way forward. »

Asked about his points average, which has never been so high in his career, he has an explanation: “The biggest difference is that I'm making more 3-pointers, and that's why my stats are better. But my goal remains to create games for others. I'm not focused on scoring more. »

In fact, that gives almost 30 points on average with more than 50% at 3-points!

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