The Nuggets signed arguably their best performance of the season tonight. And it was not anywhere since they won by 36 points on the floor of the NBA champions: 136-100!
Facing Giannis Antetokoumpo and his teammates, Nikola Jokic showed the way in the first quarter with already 6 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals! Then he drove the point home in the 3rd quarter to reach 18 points, 9 rebounds and 15 assists in just 28 minutes. The Bucks are already in the cabbage, and Mike Malone will leave his star player on the bench until the end. So much for the triple-double.
“He dissected us” summarizes Jrue Holiday on the performance of the 2021 MVP. It’s the Nuggets’ 5th straight victory, and despite the absences of Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr, the team produces its best basketball with movement, passing and good sure of the address.
“It’s a team victory. Our ball circulation has been fantastic.” highlights Mike Malone at a press conference. And when we point the finger at the 39 assists, he adds “It’s our identity. That’s who we are. What I remember are the 20 assists in the second half for only three stray balls. “
“Nikola gets going making passes. He does not find his rhythm by scoring points”
Author of 15 assists, his biggest total of the season, Nikola Jokic is rubbing off on his teammates. ” You know, they say a basket makes one person happy, while a pass makes two people happy.” replies the Serb about his passing preference. ” Tonight was great, but that’s because we put in a lot of our shots. It’s always easier when you put your shots… The most important thing is to try to continue playing this type of basketball. It is first and foremost a collective and comprehensive effort. “
On the Bucks side, Mike Budenholzer clearly missed his anti-Jokic plan. He had thus chosen to stick Jrue Holiday on his back, and to prevent him from turning around or going towards the racket when he received the ball in the low post. For Giannis Antetokounmpo, on the contrary, Jokic must be forced to score points, and isolated from his teammates.
“In the end, they were more or less given the opportunity to do what they wanted, and that was to have all their players involved” regrets the “Greek Freak”. “Nikola gets going making passes. He can’t find his rhythm by scoring points. Personally, I think we should have forced him to play one-on-one all evening, and everyone should be keen to defend their own player. We didn’t do it. “
Looking at the game, what really makes the difference is the pace. The Nuggets were always one step ahead, and the shooters received the ball in the best conditions. Always behind on rotations, the Bucks were trapped by the anticipation of Nikola Jokic and his teammates, but also their movements. Playing without the ball allowed a player like Aaron Gordon to always place himself at his best in relation to his teammates. The rest is game reading and intelligence, two of Nikola Jokic’s primary qualities.
| Shots | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | bp | Int | CT | party | Points |
| Nikola Jokic | 43 | 33.2 | 57.1 | 37.5 | 80.9 | 2.8 | 11.0 | 13.8 | 7.7 | 3.5 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 2.6 | 26.2 |
| Will Barton | 41 | 32.7 | 43.2 | 37.0 | 79.4 | 0.7 | 4.3 | 4.9 | 4.2 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 15.4 |
| Aaron Gordon | 45 | 32.0 | 52.0 | 32.5 | 74.1 | 1.6 | 3.9 | 5.5 | 2.5 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 1.9 | 14.5 |
| Monte Morris | 45 | 30.1 | 46.2 | 35.9 | 83.0 | 0.4 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 4.2 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 1.3 | 12.5 |
| Jeff Green | 44 | 25.1 | 52.1 | 34.3 | 80.2 | 0.6 | 2.7 | 3.3 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 2.4 | 10.6 |
| Michael Porter, Jr. | 9 | 29.4 | 35.9 | 20.8 | 55.6 | 1.0 | 5.6 | 6.6 | 1.9 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 1.8 | 9.9 |
| Bryn Forbes | 5 | 19.6 | 34.8 | 35.0 | 100.0 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.4 | 8.6 |
| Bones Hyland | 36 | 17.5 | 36.4 | 33.7 | 87.8 | 0.2 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 2.1 | 8.3 |
| austin rivers | 35 | 21.4 | 42.1 | 35.6 | 70.4 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 1.6 | 6.6 |
| Zeke Nnaji | 32 | 15.1 | 52.5 | 50.8 | 62.7 | 1.2 | 2.2 | 3.4 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 1.8 | 6.5 |
| Facundo Campazzo | 47 | 21.4 | 37.9 | 31.1 | 80.3 | 0.4 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 3.9 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 2.2 | 6.3 |
| Demarcus Cousins | 4 | 12.6 | 24.1 | 18.2 | 75.0 | 2.2 | 4.2 | 6.5 | 0.8 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 3.0 | 6.2 |
| Jamychal Green | 36 | 14.6 | 43.7 | 25.0 | 85.7 | 0.9 | 2.7 | 3.6 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 2.1 | 5.6 |
| Pj Dozier | 18 | 18.9 | 36.4 | 31.2 | 76.9 | 0.8 | 2.7 | 3.5 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 1.8 | 5.4 |
| Vlatko Cancar | 14 | 10.9 | 56.4 | 58.3 | 75.0 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 4.3 |
| Markus Howard | 18 | 6.6 | 35.9 | 39.6 | 87.5 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 4.0 |
| davon reed | 22 | 14.5 | 46.5 | 44.1 | 80.0 | 0.4 | 2.2 | 2.6 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 1.5 | 3.9 |
| bowl bowl | 14 | 5.8 | 55.6 | 25.0 | 40.0 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 2.4 |
| Rayjon Tucker | 3 | 9.8 | 50.0 | 50.0 | 75.0 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 |
| James Ennis | 3 | 4.6 | 33.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 1.3 |
| Petr Cornelie | 13 | 2.9 | 33.3 | 12.5 | 75.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 1.1 |
| carlik jones | 2 | 2.0 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
