Nikola Jokić ended Thursday night’s clash between the Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors in dazzling fashion, hitting a shot from half-court just before the buzzer sounded for a 130–127 win.
Jokić’s 39-foot game-winner may not have been the most aesthetically pleasing, as it banked off the backboard to go in rather than swished cleanly through the net. After the game, TNT’s Charles Barkley teased him about that, asking “Did you call glass on that?”
However, Jokić did not care if the shot looked pretty. He only cared about the final result.
“My friend, it went in,” Jokić said to Barkley. “I’m happy.”
Chuck: "Did you call glass on that?"
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) January 5, 2024
Jokić: "My friend, it went in. I'm happy." 💀 pic.twitter.com/iqDzwreXXZ
The two-time NBA MVP has become known for his terse, weary responses to questions from the media. Most of the time, that showed how tired Jokić was after a long championship run and the poor guy just wanted to go home to Serbia.
In this case, Jokić was surely fatigued after a comeback win over the Warriors, with Denver rallying from an 18-point deficit midway through the fourth quarter. However, he also surely knew that no one would care how his game-winning shot looked. It counted as a three-pointer on the scoreboard and in the box score.
