DENVER — Nikola Jokic yanked his crimson headband off as soon as he got to Denver’s bench. It did its job, and the Denver Nuggets did theirs, too.
Sporting a headband to help cover up a bloody, first-quarter gash, Jokic steered the Nuggets to a commanding 122-109 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday night to seal a playoff berth with just one game left in the regular season. The win ensures a top-six seed and guarantees they’ll have nothing to do with the play-in tournament.
For the fourth consecutive season, Jokic carried the Nuggets to the playoffs.
“Dude is really great at basketball,” rookie Bones Hyland said .
At 48-33 ahead of Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Los Angeles Lakers, they still have a chance at the No. 5 seed depending on Utah’s finish.
Late in the fourth quarter, Jokic finished an easy look inside to make NBA history. With his 35-point, 16-rebound, six-assist night, Jokic became the first player in NBA history to score at least 2,000 points, grab 1,000 rebounds and dish 500 assists in a regular season. The “M-V-P” chants roared at Ball Arena.
They got even louder when Jokic subbed out a few minutes later. A Serbian flag bounced behind the Nuggets’ bench.
“It is remarkable what he’s done,” coach Michael Malone said.
After acknowledging his bias, he lobbed one more take.
“… The MVP isn’t even a competition,” he said.
Aaron Gordon added 22 points in the win, and Hyland scored 16 off the bench.
The Nuggets treated Russell Wilson and Ciara, who sat courtside Thursday night, to a rowdy, dominant win that had little drama.
The Grizzlies, without Ja Morant, had little motivation to keep pace.
The Nuggets’ torrid shooting continued into the third quarter. Will Barton, Monte Morris and Gordon picked apart Memphis’ porous defense from the mid-range, while Jokic kept softening them up inside. Granted the Grizzlies weren’t playing for anything, but the Nuggets’ offense looked like a well-oiled machine.
On one electric sequence, Hyland took off on the fastbreak, whipped the ball behind his back to himself, found Jokic streaking for a dunk and then sprinted back on defense high-fiving fans, including Wilson. The lead ballooned to 30 on the jam, and the Nuggets held a comfortable 105-78 lead entering the fourth.
Reserve wing Davon Reed added valuable minutes in both halves, while guard Facu Campazzo played sparingly and Bryn Forbes didn’t enter the game at all. Because he’s a two-way player, Reed won’t be eligible for the playoff roster.
Malone didn’t elaborate on the decision when asked about it before the game.
“You go with the punches,” he said.
Following Tuesday’s defensive disaster against San Antonio, Malone reinforced his team’s principles.
“We have to lead the league in ball-watching,” Malone said. “We admire our own shot, the ball goes up, we wait for the team to rebound, and then we try to get back. The team we’re playing tonight is one of the best teams in the league. The fact that they’re 20-3 without Ja Morant is incredible. They attack you in transition, they turn you over, they live in your paint, and they just eat the offensive glass.
After a sloppy, disengaged first quarter, the Nuggets buckled down in the second. Their 70-53 halftime lead was a testament to their work on the glass (22-13 over the first two quarters) and their selfless play. On numerous occasions, the Nuggets made the extra pass, turning down a good look for a great one.
Three players – Gordon, Jokic and Hyland – reached double-digits in the first half. As a team, the Nuggets connected on 9-of-16 from 3-point range, including three each from Gordon and Hyland.
On two of his makes, Hyland turned to look at the Grizzlies’ bench to make sure they saw who caused the damage.
