INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The Clippers’ only hope of stopping Nikola Jokic was for a fan to join them on the court and play 6-on-5.
The reckless trespasser late in the fourth quarter was promptly swept aside, like every other obstacle Jokic encountered in a historic 55-point performance Wednesday night at Intuit Dome.
“I missed like two or three layups,” the Nuggets center self-critiqued afterward.
The final point total wasn’t itself historic. This was the second-highest scoring game of Jokic’s career. The true landmark? He knew before it was even brought up to him: “I think I scored, a couple of times, more than 50, and we lost every time. I think this is the first time I scored 50 that we won. So it’s a good feeling.”
The Nuggets were 0-4 on those occasions previously, including a playoff game. “Surprising,” Aaron Gordon said.
Most recently, that record included Jokic’s 61-point triple-double in April that was spoiled by Russell Westbrook’s three-shot foul at the buzzer of double-overtime.
With that heartbreaking loss to Denver’s rival Timberwolves, it seemed Jokic’s greatest scoring achievements might be forever cursed.
Then he performed his own exorcism in Los Angeles. He had 52 of his points by the end of the third quarter, shooting 18 for 23 from the field, 5 for 6 from the perimeter and 14 for 16 from the free-throw line — all on the second night of a back-to-back. In the first leg Tuesday at Sacramento, he shot 16 for 19 and led Denver to a win with 35 points.
“Our game plan was to make him score and just take away his passing, take everybody else out of the game,” Clippers coach Ty Lue said. “… I didn’t think he would score 55.”
“This is different,” Nuggets guard Bruce Brown said. “They’ve gotta send a double or something. Just letting him play 1-on-1, I don’t think that’s the answer. … He’s the best player in the world, so I don’t know what you do with him.”
Single coverage is at least justifiable with recently anointed All-Defensive Team center Ivica Zubac protecting the rim. But as Lue went on to point out, the difficulty of guarding Jokic is not merely his bulldozer strength in the post, but his overall versatility in the offense. Denver will often get him the ball and create space or mismatches for him by running him off a pin-down screen, as if he were a movement shooter. Also, Gordon added, “he’s a point guard.”
“I think I saw everything,” Jokic said. “I think I saw they were putting a guard on me, a power forward. Fronting. … I think it’s hard (to defend) when we are really running all the plays for me, all kinds of different plays. And I think big guys like me, I’m not used to it, chasing guys over a pin-down or whatever. I don’t know how to guard it because I never guard it. Even when we play against a guy who can do that, I’m not guarding him.”
He might’ve had a chance to aim for his career high if the game were more competitive. But the Nuggets (9-2) and their Jonas Valanciunas-anchored bench unit continued to stretch the lead without Jokic in the fourth quarter, ultimately limiting his minutes to a tame 33.
David Adelman did briefly sub him back in with 6:01 remaining and the Nuggets leading 122-103, however. When asked about that decision, the first-year Nuggets coach was adamant that it had nothing to do with Jokic’s stats.
“I feel like in the NBA, if you’re not up by 40 points, you’re gonna put your best players back in and make sure you get to a certain point to win the game,” he said. “There’s zero disrespect in that. There was no, ‘How many points did he have?’ … They started to press us, and he’s one of our best ball-handlers. He’s a guy that can bleed the clock. He’s one of the best players alive. So if you’re trying to win games in the NBA, 17 points (ahead), 18 points, it’s not that big of a deal with five minutes to go. … It would be stupid for me not to put my best players back in to make sure we win the game.”
It helps that Adelman feels like he can trust Jokic’s durability in those situations. The Serbian big man has been the king of back-to-backs in recent years. Last December, he combined for 104 points over a 24-hour stretch spanning from Washington to Atlanta. (The first game, incidentally, was one of the four 50-pieces that Denver has squandered.)
A few of his other 2024-25 stat lines on one day of rest: 29-18-16, 46-9-10, 23-17-15, 35-18-8.
All in wins.
“A lot of it, you notice it in how he plays, how he conserves his energy on defense,” Spencer Jones told The Denver Post. “He’s very smart with fouls, especially with transition and stuff like that. Knows when he’s out of place, and instead of running all over the place exhausting his energy, sometimes he’ll take a foul. … If he has to get a lot of buckets, he knows to take his time. He’ll call certain plays that settle us in and slow us down a little bit so that he can stay with it throughout the game. It’s a bunch of little things that would go over an average fan’s head.”
Intellect might be the secret to superhuman endurance, based on Jones’ assessment. Or maybe it’s just nutrition and sleep.
“Eat really good for breakfast,” Jokic said, explaining his back-to-back routine. “Take a nap. Come here (to the arena). Eat really good. Try a little bit harder to warm up. But when you warm up and get yourself going, it’s kind of easy.”
He ate avocado toast and eggs on Wednesday morning.
“The way he played today,” Adelman said, “is how he works out when nobody is watching.”
Yet even the teammates who observe and emulate Jokic’s work ethic behind the scenes were awe-struck by his efficiency in Los Angeles. He’s now averaging 28.8 points, 13.1 rebounds and 10.9 assists per game on 68.4% shooting — 78.3% inside the arc, 41.7% outside it. The first 11 games of this season may add up to the best 11-game stretch he has played.
His 55 points on Wednesday eclipsed the Clippers’ entire starting lineup, which combined for 54.
“If you put a camera on the bench, you’ll see us shaking our heads throughout the game,” Jones said.
And Jokic, as usual, shrugs his shoulders while they shake their heads.
“I had a good night, the ball was going in, and we won the game,” he said while Gordon loitered near the scrum of reporters, interested to hear what the mastermind had to say. “The guys, the coach, were running plays for me. And it’s as simple as that.”
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