Jusuf Nurkic Says Kendrick Perkins Would Be a 'Mascot' in Today's NBA After Criticism

Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic had a few choice words for ex-NBA big man (and current ESPN analyst) Kendrick Perkins on Saturday after the commentator recently said that he and Blazers teammate Enes Kanter were the "worst defensive bigs" in the NBA.

Sean Highkin of Bleacher Report provided the remarks:

Perkins made his comments after the Blazers' 120-115 loss to the Nuggets in Game 3 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series on Thursday:

Nuggets center and likely NBA MVP Nikola Jokic dropped 36 points on 12-of-24 shooting to lead Denver to the Game 3 victory.

However, Nurkic got the latest laugh against Perkins and his ex-team with the Blazers blowing out the Nuggets 115-95 on Saturday to even the series at two games apiece.

Jokic only had 16 points on 7-of-18 shooting as Denver fell behind by as many as 33. Nurkic, who had 17 points, also had a pair of blocks and a steal as Portland outscored Denver by 32 when the Bosnian big man was on the court.

Perkins did respond to Nurkic's comments, citing Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant's praise of his own defensive prowess when the ESPN analyst played for the Boston Celtics:

Nurkic, who played for Denver from 2014-2017 before being traded to Portland, will now hope to help lead the Blazers to a win in Game 5, which will take place on Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET at Denver's Ball Arena.