NBA 2020-21: As the Nuggets recorded their first win of the 2020-21season by blowing out the Rockets at home, Nikola Jokic’s stat-sheet stuffing triple-double put him alongside some elite company in the franchise’s all-time record books.
Seven Nuggets players scored in double figures as the team shot 46-87 from the field (52.9%) against a Rockets squad without John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, and Eric Gordon.
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James Harden (34 points, 8 assists) single-handedly tried to make this game but Serbian All-Star center Nikola Jokic was the best player on the floor.
He recorded his second triple-double of the young season with 19 points, 18 assists, 12 rebounds, and three steals on a spectacular 8-of-11 shooting from the field.
The 18 dimes are a career-high for Jokic, which makes him the first center since Wilt Chamberlain in 1968 to dish out that many assists.
The best passing big man of all-time.
And it ain’t close.#MileHighBasketball pic.twitter.com/Dwxmnh6pBE
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) December 29, 2020
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The stat line also meant that the 7-foot center tied Fat Lever for the most regular-season triple-doubles in Nuggets franchise history. The duo has both recorded 43 triple-doubles, tied for the ninth-most in NBA history.
Lever recorded all those triple-doubles in 474 games for the Nuggets while Jokic ties it up in his 384th career regular-season game. Jokic is already at the top of the all-time franchise charts for most playoff triple-doubles with five.
Although the Nuggets – last season’s Conference Finalists – needed their third game to record their first win, Jokic’s start to the season has been stellar, to say the least.
Through three games, he is averaging 24.0 points, 14.0 assists, and 12.0 rebounds on 58.1% (26-42 FGs) shooting from the field.
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Editors pick
