Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks lost against Nikola Jokic’s Denver Nuggets in the two team’s first regular season game of the campaign. The Nuggets returned from the first quarter with a 16-point lead and did not allow Doncic and company a way back into the game. Doncic finished with 34 points, 8 assists, and 10 rebounds but also had 9 turnovers, which is a career-high.
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On the other hand, Nikola Jokic dominated proceedings from the offset and top-scored for his team, with 33 points, 9 assists, and 14 rebounds. The two European stars were at their very best but the defending champions looked like the team they have been since last season. The Mavericks, on the other hand, were handed their first loss of the season. And the way in which it came might be concerning.
Doncic and Irving showed flashes of promise but the Mavericks’ unsettled roster means that it will be some time before things start clicking consistently. While Jokic was at his imperious best during the game, he produced a gem in the post-match conference as well, according to a tweet by ClutchPoints.
Asked what he liked best about fellow superstar Luka Doncic’s game, Jokic claimed it was the fact that he could beat Luka, and make fun of him later. “That I can beat him and make fun of him.”
Nikola Jokic on what he enjoys about Luka Doncic’s game:
“That I can beat him and make fun of him.” 😂
(via @HPbasketball) pic.twitter.com/C8DpsAYKzM
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 4, 2023
Two of the best players in the league, both Doncic and Jokic finished with near triple-doubles. However, while Jokic had just 4 turnovers, Luka ended up tying his career-high, which was only one of the areas he was outplayed in. While the Mavs have obvious talent among their ranks with the presence of Kyrie Irving and Doncic, they came up against a dominant, well-drilled unit that knew exactly how to handle them.
Luka Doncic claims the NBA knows how special Nikola Jokic is
While Jokic chose humor over paying respect to Doncic in typical fashion, the Slovenian had a lot of praise for the 2-time MVP. Speaking in a press conference, Luka Doncic plainly claimed that Jokic was probably the best basketball player in the world. Talking about the kind of tactical impact Jokic tends to have on each game, Luka said that coaches and players alike were well aware of his genius.
“All the players and the coaches know how special he is. So like I say, I think everybody knows what kind of player he is. Right now he is probably the best basketball player in the world,” he said.
Having landed his first NBA title last year, the Jokic and the Nuggets have started the season in typical fashion. They produced their only loss of the season (6-1) against the Minnesota Timberwolves recently, which means that the Boston Celtics remain the only unbeaten team of the regular season thus far.
