By John Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
It was an eventful night for Nikola Jokic. The 24-year-old Serbian big tallied 21 points, 12 rebounds, 11 dimes and a pair of steals for the Denver Nuggets in their 116-112 road win against the Portland Trail Blazers. Sunday’s triple-double was his fourth in the 2019 NBA Playoffs and his second straight following the triple-double in quadruple-overtime Game 3. The best-of-seven series is now tied at two wins apiece.
After Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals Series, Jokic demonstrated his strength in the press conference as well. Trying to pull out his microphone, he broke it and wondered what he did wrong.
The issue was quickly resolved and he pointed out to gathered reporters: “Four overtimes were exhausting, but with our win tonight the last game didn’t really matter.”
On hurting his knee, he said: “It was just feeling weird. I couldn’t stand it. I just hit the side of my knee, but it’s OK.” His coach, Michael Malone previously explained: “He just got kneed, nothing serious.”
On the Nuggets coming back after a tough loss to tie the series, he mentioned: “I think it’s not quitting. We have a lot of competitive guys who don’t want to lose.”
The Joker became the seventh player with four triple-doubles in a single postseason in NBA history per Elias Sports. He followed in the footsteps of Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson, Oscar Robertson, LeBron James, Rajon Rondo and Jason Kidd.