Ryan Blackburn @NBABlackburn
It feels like the Nuggets are hoping Jokic can carry everything right now and he’s just gonna run out of gas at some point.
I know it’s Jokic we’re talking about, but the Nuggets can’t get enough stops to make it a viable strategy. – 11:42 PM

Stephen Noh @StephNoh
Here’s how little Nikola Jokic cares about his shooting percentages. He leads the NBA by far this season with 21 heaves.
Last season’s leader? Nikola Jokic, with 8.
If you removed his heaves, his 3-point percentage would go from 41.6% to 44.0%, tied for no. 2 in the league. – 3:26 PM

Melissa Rohlin @melissarohlin
Steve Kerr said tonight’s Lakers-Warriors game feels like a playoff game: “We’re all desperate to stay out of the play-in, so it has created a race.” – 8:32 PM

Anthony Slater @anthonyVslater
Jonathan Kuminga just emerged for his pregame shooting routine. Steve Kerr said he will warm up before clearance, but sense is Kuminga will try to play at Lakers tonight. – 8:31 PM

Bobby Manning @RealBobManning
A look at the #AllNBA picture by games played…
1st: Jokic ✅ Shai ✅ Giannis (needs 3 more G, 7 left) Tatum ✅ Mitchell ✅
2nd/3rd mix: Cade ✅ Brunson (needs 4 more G, 6 left) Mobley ✅ Edwards ✅ LeBron (needs 1 more G)… – 3:11 AM

Brandon Rahbar @BrandonRahbar
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has his 48th 30 point game of the season.
30 point game leaders
1. SGA: 48
2. Giannis: 37
3. Jokic: 28
4. Tatum: 27
5. Booker/Edwards: 23 – 12:02 AM

Vinny Benedetto @VBenedetto
Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon, Jamal Murray, Christian Braun and Michael Porter Jr. are out tonight.
MPJ is still with his family, Malone says. – 7:16 PM

Paul Garcia @PaulGarciaNBA
Denver injury report for tonight vs Spurs:
Holmes II, Strawther – OUT
Jokic, Murray, Gordon, Braun, MPJ, Watson – QUESTIONABLE – 4:39 PM

Vinny Benedetto @VBenedetto
Jamal Murray, Christian Braun, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon, Nikola Jokic and Peyton Watson are questionable for tonight’s game against San Antonio. Julian Strawther remains out.
Victor Wembanyama, De’Aaron Fox, Devin Vassell and Jeremy Sochan are among the Spurs’ inactives. – 4:22 PM

John Gonzalez @JohnGonzalez
Beyond the Arc LIVE on YouTube 12 pm ET w/ @sportsreiter
Craziest night of NBA season:
-Wolves-Nuggets Double OT classic
-Joker 60-point triple double
-oh no Russ what’d you do?!
-Steph 52-point almost triple double
-Wild West seeding race
youtube.com/live/PE33Q021S… – 11:50 AM

Bill Reiter @sportsreiter
Radio show’s up & live on @InfSportsNet from 10-noon ET: Jokic’s greatness, Westbrook’s double debacle, Steph’s 50-burger, @TomCrean, Start/Bench/Cut, Jerry hates agents, @PrettyDaddyRTY has a secret, Buy or Sell, more.
LISTEN:
ReiterThanYou.com
@Audacy app
@SIRIUSXM 375 – 9:57 AM

Tim Bontemps @TimBontemps
New ESPN story: Our final MVP straw poll of the season is here. So, with a week-and-a-half to go in the season, is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander set to win his first, or will Nikola Jokic make history by becoming the third player ever to win four in five years? espn.com/nba/insider/st… – 9:35 AM

Anthony Slater @anthonyVslater
Steph Curry put up only the second 52-10-8-5 line ever and pushed the Warriors to the fifth seed in Memphis.
Steve Kerr: “Incredible. Fifty-two points with people draped all over him all game long. The conditioning. The skill. The audacity. The belief.”
nytimes.com/athletic/62483… – 8:24 AM

Vinny Benedetto @VBenedetto
Nikola Jokic on if he would say anything to Russell Westbrook after tonight’s ending: “Why? What happened, it’s basketball. I’m pretty sure that he didn’t want to make a foul or whatever. It happens. He had the best, I would say, thoughts. It happens.” – 2:42 AM

Christopher Hine @ChristopherHine
Anthony Edwards: “That might’ve been the best game of my life I’ve been a part of. Nikola Jokic, bruh, oh my God, he might be the best … player I’ve ever seen closeup. Besides myself to myself. He’s incredible. The MVP race is tough, man. I don’t know. He had 60. It’s crazy.” – 2:01 AM

Jon Krawczynski @JonKrawczynski
Anthony Edwards: “That might have been the best game of my life that I’ve been a part of. Nikola Jokic, bruh. My God. He might be the best basketball player I’ve ever seen close-up, besides myself to myself. He’s incredible, bruh.” – 1:59 AM

Ryan Blackburn @NBABlackburn
Michael Malone on Nikola Jokic:
“I’ve been fortunate to coach some great players…Nikola’s on a whole ‘nother level man. People say he’s not athletic. Not many guys can do what he does.” – 1:40 AM

Ben Golliver @BenGolliver
Nikola Jokic (61 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) registers third 60-point triple double in NBA history in 2OT loss to Timberwolves
– Luka Doncic: 60 points, 21 rebounds, 10 assists vs. Knicks in 2022
– James Harden: 60 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists vs. Magic in 2018 – 1:17 AM

Ohm Youngmisuk @NotoriousOHM
With Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. out, Nikola Jokic plays every minute after half and has NBA season-high 61-point triple-double. Per @ESPNStatsInfo it’s the most points in a triple-double in history. Luka Doncic + James Harden are only others with 60-point triple-doubles – 1:15 AM

Andy Larsen @andyblarsen
Smart by Jokic to go 1-2 from the FT line, makes it much more likely he doesn’t have to play 39 minutes in a row – 1:11 AM

Duvalier Johnson @DuvalierJohnson
We’re headed to OT!
Nikola Jokic is at 49 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists. He has 5 fouls and has played the entire 2nd half. Every minute!
Big OT minutes right here to try and bring Denver home. – 12:40 AM

Duvalier Johnson @DuvalierJohnson
Helluva decision by Michael Malone.
Decides to keep Jokic and the starters out there to start the 4th quarter (typically head to the bench). Looked like it was getting away from Denver. They take a lead with a 7-0 run and force the Minny TO.
Denver has some momentum. – 12:04 AM

Ryan Blackburn @NBABlackburn
Nuggets start Jokic in the 4th quarter and go on a 7-0 run. 4 Jokic points and an AG pull-up three.
Denver leads by 2. Giving themselves a chance here. – 12:03 AM

Ryan Blackburn @NBABlackburn
Jokic ain’t going down without a fight. He’s got 31. Gotta be better managing the paint defensively tho, whether it’s rebounding or contesting without fouling. T’Wolves getting downhill. – 11:39 PM

Ryan Blackburn @NBABlackburn
Jokic is 3/6 from 3 and the rest of the Nuggets are 1/6.
I asked Malone pregame tonight how the Nuggets would space the floor tonight without Murray and Porter:
“You wait and watch, baby,” Malone joked. Then more seriously:
“It’s not how we space the floor. It’s how they guard – 11:23 PM

Christopher Hine @ChristopherHine
Rob Dillingham making an impact with his defense. Stood up Jokic(!) on one possession to force a shot-clock violation. Then gets a steal off Jokic for a dunk. Wolves lead 52-51.
NAW continues to be huge for the Wolves. 13-5-5. – 11:03 PM

Ryan Blackburn @NBABlackburn
Alright, that wasn’t great to finish the quarter.
Denver on pace to allow 56 three-point attempts. That was obviously going to happen when Minnesota got down. Denver’s gotta be better closing out, specifically Jokic. – 10:37 PM

Ryan Blackburn @NBABlackburn
Minnesota has stabilized a bit defensively when they’re not sending Denver to the free throw line.
I don’t think Denver’s offense at the beginning was anything crazy. Just mostly iso and post up makes for Jokic/AG.
Russ has come in and generated some good possessions for Joker. – 10:28 PM

So frequently that players throughout the NBA have noticed. Green, when asked by ESPN to discuss Jokic’s unorthodox defense, the Golden State stalwart, already knew where the conversation was headed. “Is it gonna be about his million kick ball [violations]?” Green asked with a laugh. Indeed, in recent years no one in the NBA has stopped the game more by kicking the ball than Jokic. Since the start of 2020, the superstar has been whistled for a whopping 127 kicked-ball violations, between his regular-season and postseason games. In the 2022-23 season alone, Jokic logged 56 kicked balls; more than any other team did. For perspective, the league’s next-closest player, Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic, has recorded just 66 kicked-ball violations total since the start of 2020. -via ESPN / April 4, 2025

The three-time MVP’s basketball IQ doesn’t surprise most by now. He’s one of the best players in the world for a reason, averaging 29.7 points and 10.2 assists. But his unconventional tactics on the other end of the floor, whether it’s purposely kicking the ball or memorizing opponent’s plays, often leave players, coaches and fans in awe. And despite his obvious athletic limitations, the 6-foot-11 big has grown into a defensive analytics darling. And in Minnesota’s locker room that night, one of Joker’s best tricks was puzzling the Wolves. “Me and Rudy looked at each other and said, ‘How the f— do he know?'” Edwards asked, exasperation dripping from his voice. “That motherf—er cheating, bruh.” “Yeah,” Gobert said, addressing the scrum again. “We got to launch an investigation.” -via ESPN / April 4, 2025