Nikola Jokic walk hastily towards her third MVP with a great end to the season. The Serb had two appointments marked in red on his calendar and has responded in the best possible way. The first last Saturday 25, when he won the Bucks of John Antetokounmpo with 31 goals and 11 assists. And the second happened on the night of Monday 28 in a long-awaited duel against Philadelphia 76ers, opponent against whom he has given his best version: 25 points, 17 rebounds, 12 assists, 2 blocks and a 72.7% shooting percentage.
Jokic knew the importance of this media showdown, coming against his arch-rival for MVP as he is. Joel Embiid. However, the Sixers ruled the Cameroonian out in the early hours with a hamstring problem, as this would have been his third game in four calendar days. A night when James Harden wasn’t there either, with Achilles tendon problems in one leg.
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Even with the notable absences Nikola Jokic took it upon himself to do his job and it was critical to beat Philadelphia 116-111 in an interesting meeting. Doc Rivers’s went from less to more, finishing the game on a high after making up some ground with the substitutions coming on.
The Serb’s impact was such that by the end of the third quarter he had already reached numbers triple-doublethe 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— Sportingnewses Spain 🇪🇸 (@sportingnewses) March 28, 2023
The Nuggets player took advantage of the opponent’s weak interior defense to do and undo whatever he wanted. At the break he already had 9 assists in a real display of attacking superiority. Ball that came to him, opportunity that the rest of his teammates took advantage of
The break is over
The 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, Integration Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson as the only ones to reach ten in a season.
For the Sixers, Tyrese Maxey was alone in front of the danger, contributing 29 points and 5 assists on 57.1% shooting, accompanied by Tobias Harris with 16 points and Jaylen McDaniels with 14.
The Denver Nuggets close out the day with their fourth straight win and more West leaders (51-24) to follow before facing the Pelicans this Thursday. Meanwhile, the 76ers return to Philadelphia on a 3-game losing streak (49-26) to host the Mavs on Wednesday.
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