DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic’s magnitude is matched only by his modesty.
“I mean, I had a good game,” the Denver superstar said in his typically low-key manner after setting an NBA record by scoring 18 points in overtime, leading the Nuggets’ 142-138 victory over Minnesota on Thursday.
Those 18 points came in the last 2:53 minutes of overtime, no less, and Jokic finished with 56 points along with 16 rebounds and 15 assists for the 179th triple-double of his career.
No player in NBA history had recorded a 55-15-15 triple-double before Jokic’s masterpiece capped the league’s five-game Christmas Day fixture.
It was all necessary for the Nuggets, who played without three regular starters, to overcome a 44-point performance by Anthony Edwards, who sent the game into overtime with a three-point shot with one second left in regulation.
Edwards scored 11 points in overtime, but received two technical fouls in the final minute, one for knocking the ball out of Jokic’s hands on a dead ball after a basket.
Edwards scored seven quick points at the start of overtime and with a 9-0 run the Wolves took a 124-115 lead and silenced the crowd at Ball Arena.
The Nuggets seemed finished. And coach David Adelman called a timeout with 2:59 left.
That’s when Jokic took control.
The Nuggets’ 27 points from that point set an NBA record for most in a five-minute overtime, and it started with Jokic’s three-pointer at the 2:53 mark.
Jamal Murray, who added 35 points, blocked a Rudy Gobert attempt and passed to Tim Hardaway for a 3-pointer. After Julius Randle made two free throws, Jokic hit another 3-pointer, then tied the score at 126-126 with a floater with 1:26 left.
In the final 56 seconds, Jokic made 10 of 11 free throws, giving him 18 points in the extra period, breaking Steph Curry’s record of 17 points in a single overtime set in 2016.
“The best player in the world,” Adelman admired, listing what he called a “crazy stat line” and tremendous efficiency from Jokic, who made 15 of 21 shots, including four of six from beyond the arc, made 22 of 23 free throws and had a 3-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
“I will keep saying: Don’t get tired of this,” Adelman said. “He’s the best player in the world, that’s just the way he is. And what he does every night is important for the game of basketball. It’s good for sports, it’s good for his coach.”
With the Wolves so focused on Jokic, Murray hit a career-high 18 3-pointers and made half of them, including a key 3-pointer in overtime when he was being defended by Edwards and Jaden McDaniels.
“Yeah, I just told the bench I was going to take a jump shot because of the way they were guarding Jokic,” Murray said. “The way he was scoring, they were so focused on him. I don’t think he shot for most of the quarter and overtime.”
The Nuggets are used to superlative performances from Jokic, but this one stood out as Denver blew a 15-point lead at the end of regulation and fell behind by nine in overtime.
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