DENVER — Even if the Denver Nuggets run a nice offense, even if Jamal Murray exists around Nikola Jokić with a bunch of shooters and cutters and moves, we all knew it was going to happen sometime in Monday night’s playoffs.
We knew there would be a team that would force Murray into a tough night of filming. We knew there would be a team that would run into the film room, do their homework, and come back with adjustments that would clog the color and eliminate spacing. We knew there would be a team that slowed the Nuggets to a crawl, controlled the pace, and turned a game into a glorified rock fight.
We knew if the Nuggets were around long enough in the postseason, a game would rest on Jokić’s shoulders.
About an hour after Denver defeated the Phoenix Suns 97-87 in front of a sold-out Ball Arena crowd, Jokić was asked about his nursing degree for Tuesday night’s NBA MVP announcement, where he’s a finalist to win a third straight win , but an outsider to win the third straight because of Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid.
“Zero,” said Jokic.
His coaches, teammates and fans, none of them would think of fighting Jokić over it as long as he plays like he did on Monday night. As they defeated the Suns to take a comfortable 2-0 lead in the series, Game 2 of the Nuggets was nothing like Game 1 on Saturday night.
The Nuggets turned Game 1 into a track meeting, retiring late in the first half and driving to a one-sided win. The Suns turned Game 2 into a tortoise race, taking the Nuggets off their offense, taking Murray out of the game after he scored 34 points in Game 1, and taking a seven-point lead late in the third quarter. The Nuggets could get any shot they wanted in Game 1. The Suns played as perfect defensively in Game 2 as one could hope for against a team like Denver.
It was a game that went far off script for the Nuggets. It was a game that needed saving. And Jokić saved.
He posted a game-high 39 points, grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds, and dished out five assists. It was his second career playoff game in which he had at least 35 points, 15 rebounds and five assists. On a night when Murray couldn’t hit water from a boat, when Michael Porter Jr.’s jumper left him and when the Nuggets went 7-of-27 from 3-point range, Jokić had to carry Denver offensively. He needed one of those “I am he” shows, and he did it.
“He was phenomenal,” said Nuggets coach Michael Malone. “Nikola is an MVP for a reason. He can hit you in so many ways. Tonight he was able to take over the game from the goal scorers’ point of view. I love an aggressive Nikola Jokić.”
Jokic is very similar to LeBron James. Ironically, if you’re an opposing team, the best way to contain him is to force him to score a lot of points. Like James, Jokic is such a great passer and playmaker that he can involve his teammates, make them scorers and suddenly when you’re a defense you have to defend against five instead of one. Jokić wasn’t usually one who wanted to shoot the ball twice as often as everyone else in the squad. You almost have to persuade him to be so aggressive offensively.
Phoenix knew that. In Game 1 on Saturday, Jokić saw Murray’s hot hand, slipped into the background and offensively filled in the gaps. He found Kutter through the alley. He played pick and roll with his teammates. He performed dribbling passes. What he didn’t do was isolate. He read where doubles teams came from, found open-minded guys and let his teammates do the work.
On Monday night, the Suns took away his teammates. They allowed his main defenders Deandre Ayton and Bismack Biyombo to isolate against him with no help from weak or strong side. They were content to leave Jokić on an island and allow him to score consistently.
The strategy almost worked.
It didn’t because Jokić recognized the covers and went to work against Ayton and Biyombo. It didn’t work, because although the Nuggets posted a playoff-low 97 points, their defense was great, keeping Phoenix at 14 points in the fourth quarter while their collection of tough, versatile, and athletic wings shut Kevin Durant’s water off when it was important and made life hell for Devin Booker. In fairness, it didn’t work because Chris Paul’s second-half groin injury weakened the Suns with a third playmaker who supplemented Booker and Durant, and the extra effort took their legs in the fourth quarter. And it didn’t work because Kentavious Caldwell-Pope hit three gigantic 3-pointers, all on possession, when the Nuggets desperately needed a basket.
Jokić may or may not like Tuesday’s MVP announcement. He addressed it, saying he plans to use the Tuesday off to sunbathe by the pool. But when the Nuggets needed him to play like an MVP, which in part leads to how a team wins a title, he stepped up and did it against the playoff-level defense. The 30 takes he took Monday night marks a high of the season for him. He did it in 41 minutes and used the hour between the last buzzer and his media availability to put his feet in an ice bucket and relax.
“I didn’t intend to go out and do so many recordings,” Jokić said. “It just turned out that way. My favorite game was hitting Kentavious in the corner. He hit a lot of big shots for us in the fourth quarter.”
Denver’s versatility on both ends of the floor has been a revelation this postseason. Winning a game in Game 2 that was typically different from the type of game they play bodes well for the nuggets for the rest of the series. The Nuggets won one game when Murray shot 3 of 15 from the field. They won one game and scored just 13 points from their bench. They won a game that looked like it was slipping away in the third quarter.
But on Monday night, Jokić bolstered his resume when it mattered. He was by far the best player on the floor.
And he delivered, dare we say it, an MVP performance.
(Photo: AAron Ontiveroz / MediaNews Group / The Denver Post via Getty Images)