The Denver Nuggets have stuttered out of the gates to begin the new NBA season. Mike Malone’s team is 0-2, having dropped Saturday’s game against the LA Clippers. Even a monster performance from Nikola Jokic wasn’t enough for Denver to overcome a Clippers team missing its star player in Kawhi Leonard.
Jokic ended the night with 41 points, nine rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block. He shot 53.8% from the field and 58.3% from three-point range. Despite such a spellbinding performance, Jokic refused to be overlooked when asked about his team’s struggles during his postgame news conference.
Instead, the three-time MVP reminded the media that he’s still part of the team that has lost its opening two games and is also accountable for those performances.
“Just because I scored 40 today, that doesn’t mean I played good,” Jokic said. I think we all need to be better. I don’t think we need to question my patience, because I’m with the guys. I’m not separate from them. Just because I scored a lot means I played good or I played bad. I think we all need to play better.”
