NEW YORK — If you think Nikola Jokic plods around the court, slowly careening and bruising through defenses because he admittedly cannot run fast, you should watch the NBA's reigning two-time MVP waddle around a postgame locker room. There he is in the bowels of Madison Square Garden, a brick of ice ace-bandaged around his left ankle, another massive pack of cooling agent strapped across his lower back. The black and blue bruises that scratch up his arms are on full display. When he finally emerges from the shower under a pile of Denver Nuggets-blue towels, Jokic collects the chocolate protein shake that's waiting in his stall, tucks his shaved head and leisurely slurps half the large serving in one go.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 19: Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets dribbles against Nic Claxton #33 of the Brooklyn Nets during the first half at Barclays Center on March 19, 2023 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement.
A four-game cushion separates these Nuggets from any challenger atop the Western Conference, and yet Denver still appears like a team searching to find the equilibrium it rode up those very standings. Malone saw his club’s 22-point fourth quarter lead over the Nets shrink to 7 and felt forced to bring his starters back into the second leg of a back-to-back.“It is what it is. We need to be concerned,” Jokic told reporters after the Knicks loss.
Murray was scorching from distance over these pair of games, connecting on 9 of 11 threes, the kind of shooting array that makes a jump shot’s comparisons to water and wetness seem obvious. When he’s rediscovered that flow, that streak he showcased in the Bubble, Murray is the kind of back-breaking shooter who can suffocate defenses all by his lonesome while puncturing a raucous road crowd altogether.
Malone said he still doesn’t know what reserve unit will become a fixture of his postseason rotation. “Probably we’re still in ‘search mode.’ It’s been hard because guys like Zeke have been in and out of the lineup with injury,” Malone said.
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