Nikola Jokic had an interesting appearance at the press conference following the Denver Nuggets’ victory over the New Orleans Pelicans – 134:116.
The Serbian center knew that reporters would immediately start asking questions about his 108th NBA career triple-double, surpassing LeBron James and Jason Kidd, so he decided to preempt them and put an end to that topic.
“You don’t have to ask me questions because I already know what you’re going to ask. Julian was great today. He had a huge impact on the game, bringing us the necessary energy. He needs to learn that when he scores as he does, the defense will have to leave someone else open,” said Jokic, preempting the reporters’ questions about his triple-double record.
“We have great confidence when Collin is on the court with us, but I think he needs to be a bit more aggressive, primarily for himself. I believe that will help us even more,” added Nikola Jokic.
Jokic highlighted the third quarter as the decisive period of the game for his team.
“The third quarter was excellent for us, especially after a somewhat weak first half. We finished the game with 37 assists, which is great, and we only had nine turnovers. I think we didn’t play well in the first half because we were somewhat ‘selfish.’ They made a lot of shots, even though we knew they were great shooters, but our focus wasn’t in the right place. In the second half, we outscored them 72-45, and that was the key to the game.”
The popular “Joker” recorded 35 points, 14 rebounds, and 12 assists in Denver’s victory, making him the most productive player in the game.