Jokic puts Knicks to bed early as Nuggets cruise to easy, 113-97 victory
May 6, 2021, 6:41 AM
After one quarter of play on Wednesday, the score was: Nikola Jokic 24, Knicks 12.
Jokic obliterated the Knicks from the opening tip, scoring on 8-of-9 shots in the opening period, showing off an array of post moves and dunks that New York had no ability to combat.
“Some games, I don’t score in the first half, and then I score a lot in the second half,” Jokic said. “The team was finding me, I was making shots. It just happened like that.”
While finishing with 32 points on 10-for-16 shooting to go along with 12 rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks in only 29 minutes on the night, Jokic made a resounding statement regarding his MVP candidacy; something which the 26-year-old big man hasn’t once lobbied for.
Michael Porter, Jr., who efficiently scored 17 points of his own, has quickly become more than a sidekick this season — especially following the loss of Jamal Murray to a season-ending ACL injury — but admitted that even Jokic’s teammates occasionally can’t help but marvel at what they’re seeing.
“When he’s going like that, we get to just chill. We just throw to him and we just chill,” Porter explained. “If he finds us on the weak side, we’re ready to shoot. No big man in the NBA can guard him one-on-one, so we let him to go to work.”
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NEXT UP: Nuggets (44-22) at Jazz (48-18) | Friday, May 7 at 7:00 p.m.
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NOTES
• Nikola Jokic went 12-for-15 from the free-throw line, and it looks like Jokic might finally be starting to get the respect that the league’s best players do. In the last six games, Jokic’s attempts have consistently crept upwards; he’s averaged 8.7 attempts per game in that span. In the month of March, Jokic averaged only 3.7 attempts per game.
• Austin Rivers is settling in with his new teammates, but on Wednesday, he was reminding his old ones what they missed. Rivers was electric against the Knicks — who released him this season prior to joining the Nuggets — scoring 25 points in 28 minutes while hitting six three-pointers. Three was the number of the night for Rivers; he grabbed three rebounds, handed out three assists and had three steals.
• Facu Campazzo has continued his run of solid play alongside Nikola Jokic. If Campazzo is shooting reasonably well, he can give the Nuggets a boost besides just his indefatigable effort. Campazzo, who scored 16 points on the night, also had nine rebounds — tied for second on the team — and became the first Nugget since Fat Lever in 1989 to have back-to-back games of five or more steals.
• JaVale McGee was disruptive on defense Wednesday, grabbing nine rebounds and blocking a pair of shots in only 18 minutes. McGee’s aggressive play allowed him to alter at least half-a-dozen more attempts with ease.
• Aaron Gordon went scoreless, shooting 0-for-6 with eight rebounds. While he’s not a featured offensive player at this point, the Nuggets need significantly more scoring from Gordon, especially while they’re suffering from so many injuries.
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THE FINAL WORD
“This is one of our most impressive wins of the year, considering who we have available and the quality of opponent.” — Head coach Michael Malone.
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ROTATION (MINUTES)
Starters
G Facundo Campazzo (33)
F Michael Porter Jr. (25)
F Aaron Gordon (22)
F Paul Millsap (24)
C Nikola Jokic (29)
Bench
G Austin Rivers (28)
G Shaquille Harrison (27)
F JaMychal Green (20)
C JaVale McGee (18)
F Bol Bol (5)
F Vlatko Cancar (5)
G Markus Howard (4)
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INJURY WATCH
• P.J. Dozier (right hip tightness) left the May 3 game and is out indefinitely.
• Zeke Nnaji (ankle) missed the May 3 game and is day-to-day.
• Will Barton (hamstring) was injured on Apr. 23. Coach Michael Malone said Barton will be out “for the foreseeable future” on Apr. 24. It seems unlikely that he will be available until the playoffs, at the earliest.
• Monte Morris (hamstring) was injured on Apr. 16 and his return date is uncertain.
• Jamal Murray (torn left ACL) was injured in the final minute of the Apr. 12 game. His season is over, and realistically, Murray will be out until at least the 2022 All-Star break.
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Shawn Drotar is the host of “The Fan Late Night with Shawn Drotar;” weeknights from 10:00 p.m. to midnight — only on 104.3 The Fan. Follow him on Twitter at @sdrotar.
