Nikola Jokic on replicating Giannis Antetokounmpo heroics with Denver Nuggets
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Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetonkounmpo
It’s all love between the players of the highest, most elite level after the game between Denver Nuggets and Milwaukee Bucks.
After one of the season’s best wins over the Bucks by a 36 points margin, Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo embraced each other, displaying the respect and affection both the MVPs have for each other.
The Nuggets exposed the holes in the Bucks’ defense and exploited those holes to have a comfortable victory over the latter team. Jokic just missed his 13th triple double of the season and scored over 18 points, 15 assists and 9 rebounds in his game against the Bucks, leading the way for the team to defeat the bucks by a 136-100 margin.
Even though the Nuggets defeated the defending Champs by an embarrassing score difference, Jokic had some highly positive things to say about the former MVP and his dear friend, Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Let us take a closer look at what Jokic said
Nikola Jokic draws a parallel between them and heaps praises for Giannis Antetokounmpo
“The Joker” Nikola Jokic is known for his fun-loving nature, on and off the court, and it is also known that the Jokic doesn’t really get into problems very often with other players.
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Well, that was highlighted post their match with the Bucks, when Jokic drew a parallel between him and Giannis, appreciated what he had done for the Bucks, showed the desire to be like him and achieve similar feats for the Nuggets as Giannis had done for the Bucks.
Jokic said:
“All international players have some kind of connection,” said Jokic. “[Giannis Antetokounmpo] is a great guy. I admire him. Do I want to do what he did, in Denver? Yes, I want to do it of course.”
Jokic seems to have a lot of respect for Giannis, which is equally reciprocated by Antetokounmpo in all of the interactions both the players have with each other.
Bucks vs Nuggets, 100-136
The Denver Nuggets had a pretty comfortable victory against the Milwaukee Bucks, defeating them by an embarrassing 36-point margin, which is definitely not the standard the Defending Champions play by.
Aaron Gordon led the way in points for the Nuggets, scoring 24 points in the 27 minutes that he played.
Last season’s MVP, Nikola Jokic almost missed his 13th triple double of the season, scoring 18 points, 15 assists and 9 rebounds in his 28 minutes on court.
For the Bucks, Giannis scored 29 points, 2 assists and 9 rebounds, not really getting much support from the rest of the team, making it impossible for the team to win.
Bucks’ coach Mike Budenholzer said, “They were significantly better than us tonight,” also praising Jokic, by adding, “He likes to win. He’s going to do whatever it takes to win. Credit to him.”
Bucks’ player Jrue Holiday said, “He (Jokic) was sitting there picking us apart. We didn’t give ourselves a chance to win.” While being supported by his coach who accepted that the Nuggets were significantly better than them in the game.
The Bucks who have a 3-2 record in their previous 5 matches need to learn from this defeat, which is the only way they can move forward in the league, and not expect to depend only on one player to perform at such a high level, which they know, is a recipe for disaster.
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Jokic and the Denver Nuggets this season
Though Jokic stated that he wants to do with the Nuggets what Giannis has done with the Bucks, it seems highly unlikely this season, given the form they are in, and keeping in mind the fact that Jokic has to carry the entire team on his shoulder, without getting much support from the rest of the team.
Denver Nuggets stand at 5th position in the Western Conference with a 28-21 record, making their chances of winning a Championship very narrow at this point.
The return of a healthy Jamal Murray and Michal Porter Jr. is something that could make them achieve their desired goals, but for now, it will be interesting to see how the Nuggets go from being entirely dependent on Jokic to a team which performs well overall. After all, the conditions were similar for the Milwaukee Bucks as well, which highlights the fact, that it is still possible for the Nuggets.
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Harshit Singh
(434 Articles Published)