Nikola Jokic Joins Giannis Antetokounmpo, Shaquille O'Neal And Wilt Chamberlain In Elite List After Game 1
Today seems to be a day of upsets in the NBA, as home teams have lost in both the Playoff games that took place. The Denver Nuggets stunned the Oklahoma City Thunder at home after rallying back from down 13 points in the final quarter of the game. Nikola Jokic had a monster performance in this game, as he scored 42 points, had 22 rebounds, and added 6 assists to go with that.
This performance adds him to an elite list of players to have accomplished this feat. He now joins Giannis Antetokounmpo, Shaquille O'Neal, and Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history with a 40-20-5 game in the playoffs. Wilt did it in 1967 against the Celtics, Shaq did it in 2001 against the 76ers, and Giannis did it in 2022 against the Celtics as well.
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Nearly half of Jokic's points came in the fourth quarter as he scored 18 of his 42 points to help the Nuggets rally back from a 13-point deficit. Jokic nearly missed the final moments of the game until Mike Daigneault asked his team to foul the Nuggets while OKC was up by three with 13 seconds left in the game. This decision arguably cost OKC the game as Chet Holmgren missed both his free throws that gave the Nuggets the chance to steal the game with an Aaron Gordon game-winning three with less than three seconds left in the game.
While the game-winner was thrilling, one cannot argue that this wouldn't have happened if Jokic did not have a major performance today. During the breaks as well, it was visible how animated Jokic was on the bench and how he motivated his team to be better.
Shai Gilgeous Alexander vs. Nikola Jokic: Battle Of MVP Frontrunners
In the OKC Thunder vs. Nuggets series, both teams are led by favorite candidates to win the regular season MVP award: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic. Arguably, the top 2 players in the league collided in Game 1 of the series. While Jokic had this record-setting game, Alexander played well to lead his team to nearly a win. He had 33 points, 8 assists, and 10 rebounds in the game with only one turnover. Meanwhile, the Nuggets' big man had 7 turnovers in the game. However, in terms of impact in the game, Jokic was clearly miles ahead as he was +10 and Alexander was -16 in terms of the +/- stats of both players.
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As of now, the Nuggets stole home-court advantage from the No. 1-seeded Thunder. In order for OKC to regain the advantage, they will have to beat the Nuggets at least once in Denver. Will OKC be able to regain the home-court advantage? Or will the Nuggets seal this series in either Game 4 or Game 6 of this series? Let us know what you think in the comments section.
Related: Russell Westbrook Gets Standing Ovation From OKC Fans In Game 1 Of Nuggets' Playoff Series
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