Nikola Jokic’s monster night powers Nuggets past Spurs for 2-0 start – The Denver Post

On a sloppy, disjointed evening, Nikola Jokic reinforced why he’s the reigning MVP of the NBA.

Jokic, through sheer will, dragged the Nuggets to a 102-96 win over the visiting San Antonio Spurs on Friday night. With little help in the way of supplemental scoring, Jokic clawed for 32 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists – leading Denver in all three categories.

“He’s an MVP for a reason, it’d be foolish not to play through him in clutch situations,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “I think some of our guys get a little frustrated that I call play after play for Nikola. Well they better get used to it because that’s not going to change.”

Jokic’s sidekick Michael Porter Jr. managed only seven points on 3-of-10 shooting. But his 3-pointer from the wing with 4:05 remaining eased the tension. The Spurs had cut the margin to just one with 8:05 left in the fourth before Jokic returned to the game and dominated. His bevvy of floaters, Sombor Shuffles and sublime passes wrested control for the majority of the fourth quarter, save for a late Spurs run.

The Nuggets improved to 2-0 despite 21 turnovers and only nine 3-pointers. The Spurs did themselves no favors with 20 turnovers as well.

Monte Morris, whose late jumper in the lane sealed it, finished with 13 points. JaMychal Green added 10 points and three steals off the bench, aiding Jokic’s superlative night.

The Nuggets opened the half clunky and stagnant – bad enough to where Malone had to call a timeout barely two minutes into the third quarter. The recipe, naturally, was to feed Jokic inside. Jokic scored the ensuing possession in the post, and the Nuggets made a dedicated effort to get inside from then on. First Morris drove hard to the hole, then Will Barton followed suit. Struggling for most of the night, Porter attacked and found pay-dirt on a physical layup as well.

After corralling one rebound, Jokic even drove coast-to-coast to finish another one. The quarter’s best highlight, though, came after Jokic collected a defensive rebound and then hit Facu Campazzo in stride, through a tight window, for another layup. It was as audacious of a pass as he threw all night. The Nuggets turned a 67-66 lead into a 79-70 edge heading into the final quarter.

After their second-half success in Phoenix, Malone had a blueprint for how to handle San Antonio.

“We have to make sure we get back, and then once we are back, I think it’s really important, can we sit down and guard, can we contain?” Malone said. “Dejounte Murray, Derrick White, Keldon Johnson all very aggressive drivers, get into the paint for themselves, for their teammates.”

After a physical first half, filled with hard screens and tough fouls, the Nuggets had a tenuous 53-50 lead at the break. Johnson had his way offensively, bullying into the lane for 18 points, while Jokic led the Nuggets with 13 points and five rebounds of his own.

But unlike Wednesday night in Phoenix, when Denver’s second unit struggled to find any cohesion, the Nuggets’ reserves injected life into the game during their shift. Specifically, Campazzo who flew around like there was three of him on the court.

If he wasn’t blocking shots and grabbing rebounds, then he was whipping slick transition dimes to his teammates. On one, he found JaMychal in transition for a huge jackhammer jam. Green later returned the favor with a no-look pass to Campazzo for a lay-up. The reserves tallied 19 in the first half alone.

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