The Denver Nuggets defeated the dismal Chicago Bulls 114-106 on Sunday, but it suffered a bit of a loss in the first half.
Nikola Jokic, their two-time NBA MVP, was ejected after being assessed just one technical foul, which was a rarity.
Jokic got tossed in that manner because, after missing a shot near the rim, he yelled at one of the referees calling the game for a foul while dropping an f-bomb. The crowd in Chicago booed vociferously once Jokic was ejected, possibly because it was Serbian Heritage Night at United Center (Jokic is a Serbian native).
The big man only played 16 minutes as a result, but he still managed to lead all starters on his team with nine rebounds and six assists for the entire game. That made him the only player in the last 30 years to do so.
Jokic, a two-time regular season MVP and the reigning NBA Finals MVP, is a rarity because he is not only an offensive load for opponents in the paint and beyond the 3-point line but also one of the best passers in the game. He’s averaging 9.4 assists a game; last season, he put up 9.8 dimes per contest.
Even Wilt Chamberlain, the ultra-prolific Hall of Fame center who once led the league in assists, never averaged nine assists a game for an entire season. Jokic is on pace to do so for a second season in a row.
The Nuggets, the defending world champs, have a 17-9 record and are in second place in the Western Conference. They survived an injury to star guard Jamal Murray that kept him out for a few weeks of action, and one has to think they’re perhaps saving themselves for the last stages of the season when they could get hot.
The one knock on Denver coming into this season was that it didn’t have a bench. But Murray’s injury forced reserve guard Reggie Jackson, who started in his absence, to step up his play. At the same time, second-year wing Christian Braun is developing into a reliable option off the bench, especially offensively.
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