Nikola Jokic continues historic weekend as Nuggets rebound in ATL
Dec 8, 2024, 6:42 PM | Updated: Dec 17, 2024, 1:53 pm
In just over 24 hours, Nikola Jokic scored over 100 points as an all-time weekend from one of the best basketball players ever, carrying the Denver Nuggets to a 141-111 win against the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday.
Jokic finished with 48 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists and three steals a night after he set a new career-high by scoring 56 points. He also added 16 rebounds and eight assists in that loss to Washington on Saturday but he did more than enough for the Nuggets to cruise in the second half of a back-to-back. And that’s maybe the most remarkable part, which is that the three-time MVP’s highest-scoring game and his fourth-best game by points came in consecutive nights in two different East Coast cities. On Sunday, he was more efficient by shooting 17-of-29 from the field.
The efforts were needed for the Nuggets who missed Jamal Murray in both games, though Aaron Gordon’s return on Sunday definitely helped bolster the group. Michael Porter Jr. did his best AG impression playing alongside his fellow forward. MPJ set a new career high for paint points while finishing with 26 points and seven rebounds in total. Julian Strawther again had a strong game by scoring 13 points while Christian Braun continued his double-figure scoring streak which extends back to April. More importantly, it was better from the cast on Sunday than Saturday. A night ago, Jokic called them out a bit after the game suggesting that in Serbia a performance like that would get you fined. The Nuggets, led by 11 helpers from Russell Westbrook, provided the 10th-most assists for a game (43) in team history as a response.
But again, the headline is: Nikola Jokic scored the 17th-most points in a game in Nuggets history just a night after he notched the second-most in the franchise’s record books. It was the 26th time since the NBA merger, a player has scored 104 or more points in consecutive games. Jokic became the first player in league history to score over 100 points, stage over 30 rebounds and toss 15 or more assists in consecutive days.
48 POINTS FOR NIKOLA JOKIĆ.
AFTER 56 LAST NIGHT.
The 3x #KiaMVP somehow keeps getting better 🤯 pic.twitter.com/nnXcOACuBf
— NBA (@NBA) December 9, 2024
Denver finished their East Coast swing 1-2, with losses to the NBA’s best and worst team. They’re off until Friday when they’ll host the Los Angeles Clippers at Ball Arena. Murray’s injury status moving forward is unknown.
