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Nikola Jokic's heroic efforts helped the Denver Nuggets end a four-game skid with a 119-100 road win over the Detroit Pistons. Jokic maintained his triple-double season average of 25/12/10 with a near triple-double, bagging 30 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists. He shot 78% from the field.
Jokic dominated throughout the game. He had 18 points, five rebounds, and five assists in the first half alone. Jokic shot 8-of-10. He also continued to dominate the second half, as the Nuggets trailed by six points entering the break. Jokic had 12 points, five rebounds, and four assists in the final 24 minutes on six-of-eight shooting.
The slumping Nuggets desperately needed to get back in the W column as they unexpectedly crumbled over the last week. Fans online gave Jokic flowers for his phenomenal efforts, as one of them tweeted:
"Better offensive player than 2016 Steph"
More such reactions followed:
Nikola Jokic drops a spot in the MVP race
Nikola Jokic has been the frontrunner for the better part of the 2022-23 NBA season. The Serbian has averaged a triple-double this season, putting him on pace to become only the third player to achieve the feat after Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook, who did it four times in his career.
However, Jokic's stock to win his third consecutive MVP award fell last week after the Denver Nuggets slumped to four straight losses. Joel Embiid, the league's leading scorer with 33.5 points per game, is now the oddsmakers' favorite to win the individual award. Embiid finished as the runner-up to Jokic in 2021 and 2022.
Many in the NBA fraternity believe that Embiid deserves to win this year's MVP award. Embiid's scoring numbers and better defensive efficiency over Jokic gave him the edge to claim his first MVP. He has also had solid outings, playing against other top contenders like Jokic this season.
Over the last few weeks, there has been a widespread notion that Nikola Jokic is stat-padding in games, contributing to him dropping behind in the MVP race. However, Jokic is the team's floor general and has been a triple-double machine. He is the best passer on the team and a solid rebounder, which often ends with him stuffing the stat sheet.
Jokic has dropped a place in the MVP race, but if he can lead the Nuggets to a strong finish, the prospects of three-peating could be back on the table.
