“History Made: Jokic’s Record-Breaking Night Collides with Lakers’ Playoff Surge!”
In the whirl of excitement that surrounds the NBA as the season draws to a nail-biting close, one player is standing head and shoulders above the rest, and that’s none other than Nikola Jokic. With an undeniable flourish, Jokic has just ensured that he will become only the third player in the illustrious history of the NBA to finish a season with a triple-double average, rewriting the history books in the process. As the Denver Nuggets fought through a vigorous match against the Memphis Grizzlies, the brilliance of Jokic was on full display—26 points, 12 assists, and a jaw-dropping 26 rebounds, leading his team to a crucial victory that cements their playoff ambitions. Meanwhile, the league’s landscape is shifting, with stars like Luka Doncic shining brightly for the Los Angeles Lakers. With such high stakes and thrilling performances, it’s a whirlwind moment for basketball fans everywhere! If you want to dive deeper into the thrilling dynamics of this stunning season, LEARN MORE.
Jokic’s 12 assists against the Grizzlies means he is guaranteed to finish the season with an assist average of more than 10 for the first time in his career. Elsewhere, Luka Doncic scored 39 points to help the Los Angeles Lakers secure third place in the Western Conference with a 140-109 victory at home to the Houston Rockets. “If he doesn’t win the MVP, it’s the greatest season of all time not to win the MVP,” said the Nuggets’ interim coach David Adelman. Jokic has 164 regular-season triple-doubles in his career, the second-highest tally in NBA history behind Westbrook’s 203.He is also averaging in double digits for rebounds and needs 47 points in Denver’s final game of the regular season to push his points average above 30, which would also be a career best. The Serb centre will average double digits for points, rebounds and assists after claiming his 34th triple-double of the season. It stretched their record for the season to 50 wins and 31 defeats.He will bid to extend that tally in Denver’s final game of the regular season at home to the Houston Rockets on Sunday as the Nuggets aim to seal the fourth-place finish they need to earn home-court advantage in the play-offs. The 30-year-old has already been named most valuable player (MVP) three times in the NBA’s regular season, and is one of the top candidates again this year, along with Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.The Warriors, who play their final game of the regular season at home to the Los Angeles Clippers, are in sixth place on 48 wins and 33 defeats, one win behind the Clippers and the Nuggets, who are tied for fourth.Elsewhere, the Golden State Warriors kept alive their hopes of a fourth-placed finish in the Western Conference with a 103-86 victory against the Portland Traliblazers that was powered by 24 points and seven assists from Jimmy Butler III.
Doncic stars for Lakers & James injury scare
Oklahoma City have already secured top spot in the Western Conference.James, who has been troubled by a groin injury, grimaced in pain in the third quarter and sat out the remainder of the game with tape on his left hip.He scored 26 points, 12 assists and 26 rebounds in the Nuggets’ 117-109 victory, which keeps them in a tie for fourth place in the Western Conference with one game of the regular season remaining. Only two men had previously finished a regular season in the NBA with a triple-double average – Jokic’s Denver team-mate Russell Westbrook, who did so three times with Oklahoma City and once with the Washington Wizards, and Oscar Robertson, who did it in the 1961-62 season for Cincinnati.Getty Images
Craig Nelson
BBC Sport Journalist
30 minutes ago
Doncic continued his fine run of form, leading the way with 39 points, eight rebounds and seven assists while LeBron James added 14 points and eight assists.The Lakers already know they will have home-court advantage in the play-offs after securing third place in the Western Conference with their victory against second seeds Houston.
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