Nikola Jokić hit a new Hall of Fame career high on Saturday. It wasn’t enough to avoid losing to the worst team in the NBA.
Jokić’s Denver Nuggets fell to the Washington Wizards 122-113 despite the three-time MVP scoring 56 points on 22-of-38 shooting to go along with 16 rebounds and eight assists. The win snapped a 16-game losing streak for Washington, whose record remains an NBA-worst 3-18. Every other NBA team has at least five wins.
In Jokić’s case, the career high wasn’t so much a reflection of brilliance as a lack of other options on the Nuggets. Jamal Murray (hamstring) and Aaron Gordon (calf) were out Saturday, essentially leaving the big man as the No. 1 option. 1, 2 and 3 for a team that is now 11-10.
Denver’s non-Jokić players combined to shoot 24-56 with 10 turnovers. The bigger problem may have been on defense, however, as the NBA’s worst offensive rating team looked perfectly competent against the shorthanded Nuggets.
Jordan Poole finished with 39 points on 12-of-26 shooting (9-of-20 from 3-point range) with eight assists. G League veteran Justin Champagnie, who had played about four and a half minutes in the NBA before Thursday, had 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting.
Pretty sweet pass from Poole to Champagna here for one.
Washington is coming off its best offensive half of the season: double-digit growth in Denver, 12 TOs and 51% shooting from the field. pic.twitter.com/OauhG2u4iP
— Bijan Todd (@bijan_todd) December 8, 2024
There won’t be many losses worse than those in the NBA this season, even if the Nuggets were shorthanded and the Wizards got a rare Jordan Poole 2022 vintage.
Denver now faces the second half of a back-to-back with a road game against the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday before the NBA schedule breaks for the season opener.