Denver Nuggets’ talisman Nikola Jokic has shrugged off MVP talk after leading his team to a 2-0 lead with a 97-87 victory in Game 2 of their Western Conference semifinal series at Ball Arena on Monday night.
Jokic was in beast mode as he scored 39 points, 16 rebounds, five assists, and two steals for the Nuggets. In fact, the Serbian came up with a scintillating performance on the eve of the MVP announcement.
Jokic has already won two back-to-back MVP awards in the last two seasons and he admitted that he has zero interest in thinking about the coveted award.
“I don’t really think about it,” Jokic said. “Like zero interest.”
Denver’s Jamal Murray had a tough outing as he was 3-for-15 shooting, including going 0-for-9 from behind the arc.
“I mean, 39 and 16, five dimes, while everybody else is struggling,” said Murray, who had six points and four assists in the fourth quarter. “Man, no hesitation from him. Just dominating down low and from 3, both ways. Staying aggressive all game, uplifting us during timeouts, just full belief in us the whole time while he’s taking over and picking up everybody’s slack.
“I mean, tonight was a perfect example of a two-time, potentially three-time MVP.”
If Nikola Jokic wins his third consecutive MVP, he will become only the fourth player after Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, and Bill Russell to do so.
“I mean, I cannot think about that, my friend,” Jokic said when asked what it would mean to him if he were to join such an exclusive group. “Because I cannot control it.”
Denver coach Michael Malone heaped praise on Nikola Jokic and revealed their aim is to win the championship.
“I marvel at his greatness,” Malone said. “I marvel at his consistency, his excellence, his ability to find so many different ways to beat you, whether it’s scoring, rebounding, playmaking, not afraid of the moment.
“There are so many quality [MVP] candidates, and it’ll be a really close race. But I know what motivates Nikola Jokic, what motivates myself and the rest of the guys in that locker room, is not the MVP. It’s our journey to try and win the first championship in franchise history.”
The third game of the series will be played on Friday night.
