Nikola Jokic walk briskly towards her tercer MVP with a splendid end to the season. The Serbian player had two appointments marked in red on his calendar and he has responded in the best possible way. The first on Saturday the 25th, when he beat the Bucks of Giannis Antetokounmpo con 31 goals and 11 assists. And the second took place on the night of Monday the 28th in a highly anticipated duel against Philadelphia 76ers, rival against whom he has given his best version: 25 points, 17 rebounds, 12 assists, 2 blocks and a 72.7% success rate.
Jokic knew of the media importance of this confrontation, one that had to take place against his great rival for the MVP as he is. Joel Embiid. However, the Sixers sidelined the Cameroonian in the hours before due to a thigh muscle problem, as this would have been his third game in four calendar days. A night in which James Harden was not there either, with problems with the Achilles tendon in one foot.
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Even with the notable absences Nikola Jokic took it upon himself to do his job and it was crucial to beat Philadelphia 116 to 111 in an interesting meeting. Those of Doc Rivers went from less to more, finishing the match on a high after making up the result a bit with the entry of the substitutes.
The Serbian’s impact was such that at the end of the third quarter he had already reached figures of triple-doblethe 29th of the season (leader) and the 105th of his career, Thus, placing himself just one away from tying LeBron James as the 5th most of all. history.
THE JOKER SHOW ????
25 points
17 rebounds
12 assistspic.twitter.com/jRlbwbN1Ae— ???????????? ???????????????????????????????? ???????????????? España ???????? (@sportingnewses) March 28, 2023
The Nuggets player took advantage of the rival’s weak interior defense to do and undo as he pleased. At halftime he already had 9 assists in a true demonstration of offensive superiority. Ball that came to him, opportunity taken advantage of by the rest of his teammates
Break time over
2nd half starts now ???? pic.twitter.com/2NeB9LxW9X
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) March 28, 2023
With this performance Jokic added his 10th game with more than 20 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists, joining Wilt Chamberlain y Oscar Robertson as the only ones to reach ten in a season.
For the Sixers, Tyrese Maxey was left alone in the face of danger, contributing 29 points and 5 assists with 57.1% accuracy, accompanied by Tobias Harris with 16 points and Jalen McDaniels with 14.
Denver Nuggets closes the day with the fourth consecutive victory and more leaders of the West (51-24) follow before facing the Pelicans this Thursday. Meanwhile, the 76ers fly back to Philadelphia with 3 straight losses (49-26) to host the Mavs on Wednesday.
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