Jokic on pride after remarkable comeback: “You don’t want to be blown out in front of your fans”

2024-03-12T11:57:28+00:00 2024-03-12T11:57:28+00:00.

Nikola Miloradovic

12/Mar/24 11:57

Eurohoops.net
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Gary Dineen / Getty Images / Ideal Image

Nikola Jokic’s comments on the turnaround win over the Toronto Raptors were interesting, as always

By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net

Nikola Jokic produced another historic performance to lead the Denver Nuggets to a comeback win, and after the game, he commented on their ability to recover from a 22-point deficit.

He used a particular Serbian word that doesn’t have a direct equivalent in English, but it conveys a sense of stubbornness, defiance, or determination, often in the face of adversity.

When you’re losing by 20 points, that’s a matter of pride. You don’t want to be blown out, especially in front of your fans. There’s a Serbian word, hard to translate – ‘inat.’ I think there’s no translation for it. That happened at halftime,” Jokic said after the ninth win in the 10 games played since the All-Star break.

Do the Nuggets sometimes rely too much on offense, leading to a lack of defensive effort?

I’m not sure; I believe we are a good defensive team. Usually, our defense is at a high level. When it’s a close game, we rely on our defense. Simply put, it was just one of those nights. They played aggressively, ran well in transition, and we were always a step behind, even lagging in communication during the first half.

Last but not least – dinosaurs. The video of Nikola and his family’s visit to a Dinosaur park became viral, so the logical question was – What’s Jokic’s favorite dinosaur?

Honestly, I forgot the names of the dinosaurs; they are hard to pronounce. The big one, that eats grass,” Nikola Jokic concluded the locker room interview in his fashion.

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