When Nikola Jokic is on the court, it’s a guaranteed spectacle, and after the game between the Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Clippers in the NBA Playoffs, it’s clear he’ll do whatever it takes to lead his team to victory.
This was evident in Game 1 of the first round, where the three-time NBA MVP was seen battling for a ball.
Jokic’s tussle with Van Gundy
With 33.1 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Denver guard Jamal Murray managed to deflect the ball from Kawhi Leonard’s hands in a play that was ruled a turnover by the officials. The ball ended up in the hands of Clippers assistant coach Jeff Van Gundy, who intended to hand it to the referees when Jokic arrived with other plans.
The Serbian star, in a desperate bid to secure possession for Denver, was seen engaging in a struggle for the ball that didn’t go unnoticed and went viral. To the surprise of many, Van Gundy, 63 years old, held his ground and didn’t let go of the ball despite facing the towering player.
In the end, Los Angeles did challenge the call… and lost.
This is just proof that playoff basketball is played differently…
The game between Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers
Nikola Jokic dropped 29 points and Aaron Gordon stepped up with 25 – including two clutch free throws with just 12 seconds on the clock – as the Denver Nuggets rallied from a 15-point first-half deficit to edge the Los Angeles Clippers 112-110 in an overtime thriller.
Jamal Murray chipped in with 21 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists for the fourth-seeded Nuggets, who remain undefeated (4-0) under interim head coach David Adelman, filling in for Michael Malone.
The loss marked the end of a hot streak for the fifth-seeded Clippers, who had won 18 of their last 21 games – including their last eight – and hadn’t lost since March 30 in Cleveland. They controlled much of the game until Denver’s late surge in regulation turned the tide.
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