Nikola Jokic had missed Denver’s last five games due to an ankle injury, and his team was really needing his help as they had lost three of their last four outings. Luckily for them, the Serbian returned for a huge cross-conference matchup against Milwaukee with an impactful performance.
On his first game back on Wednesday night, the big man posted 39 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists on 16-25 shooting from the field and 3-6 from beyond the arc. This meant that the European giant broke his own record for triple-doubles in a single regular season, recording his 30th of the present campaign.
For the first time, Nikola talked about his five-match absence after beating the Bucks. “It was just smart,” Jokic said. “I couldn’t really jump on my left leg. So it was really painful, and it was just better to feel good.
He then added that he simply wasn’t comfortable enough to play this past week: “I don’t want to be on the floor and feel nervous because I cannot play how I want to play and on the level I want to play.”
Now that the Nuggets only have eight contests left before the playoffs, taking care of Jokic’s health becomes more important than before. The Colorado club need the center to remain as healthy as possible, especially as they are 4-7 when he’s been sidelined this campaign.
The player was asked if he felt 100% recovered. “I feel much better than I thought,” he said postgame. “I don’t want to say percentages and stuff, but I feel much better than I thought I was gonna be. …I still feel (the ankle) a little bit, but it’s much, much, much, much, much less than how it was before.”
Nikola is currently averaging 29.3 points, 12.8 rebounds, and 10.3 assists per game this season while shooting 57.6% from the field and 41.5% from the three-point line. He’s now racing for his fourth MVP award against OKC’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and hopes to bring a second title to Denver.
