Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic added to an incredible season with another memorable performance against the Orlando Magic on Sunday night. After missing Denver’s previous game with a right wrist injury, Jokic returned to the lineup and posted a triple-double of 17 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds against Orlando. It was his league-leading 12th triple-double of the season.
In addition to the excellent stat line, Jokic also hit the game-winning stepback 3-pointer to beat the buzzer and give the Nuggets a 119-116 victory.
In addition to Jokic’s triple-double, Aaron Gordon had 25 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists for Denver, and Jamal Murray had 18 points and 7 assists. The win helped keep Denver in a competitive Western Conference standings.
After winning the NBA MVP award in each of the past two seasons, Jokic is making a strong case for himself to win the award for a third consecutive year. He leads the league in PER and ranks first latest edition In CBS Sports’ NBA MVP rankings.
If Jokic can eventually win the award for a third consecutive season, he will join some elite company. Larry Bird (1984-1986) and Wilt Chamberlain (1966-1968) are the only players in NBA history to win the MVP three times in a row. There’s still a lot of basketball to be played this season, and plenty of other worthy candidates, but performances like this against Orlando certainly help Jokic.
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