Leading the way with 19 points and letting Jokic play? Nuggets coach: I’m not trying to score points, I just want to ensure a win.
6686 Sports November 13th NBA regular season, the Nuggets beat the Clippers 130-116 on the road today.
In this game, Nuggets star Jokic had a dominant performance: playing 34 minutes, he made 18 of 23 shots, 5 of 6 three-pointers, 14 of 16 free throws, scoring 55 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 interception and 1 block.
It is worth mentioning that with 6 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Nuggets already led by 19 points, but Jokic still returned to the court and played for 3 minutes before leaving the game.
In the post-game interview, Nuggets coach Adelman explained his approach: "There is no disrespect here, nor is it to let him score points. To be honest, in the NBA, as long as you are not leading by 40 points, you have to put your best players on the court to ensure victory. In fact, I did hesitate - because Varan played very well during that time, but the Clippers started to press the whole court, and Jokic is one of our best dribblers. He can Stable rhythm, time-consuming, and he is one of the best players in the world. "
"In the NBA, with 5 minutes left in the game, the lead is not safe, especially when the opponent made 16 three-pointers tonight. Batum made two, Sanders made three, and Miller made five. It would be really stupid if I didn't send my best players to stabilize the situation at this time."