Nikola Jokić Shades Kendrick Perkins After 100th Triple-Double over Stat-Padding Jab

Nikola Jokić may or may not be a fan of ESPN's First Take, but the Denver Nuggets star was certainly aware of Kendrick Perkins' dig at him about racking up triple-doubles.

Speaking to reporters after recording his 100th career triple-double in a 133-112 win over the Houston Rockets on Tuesday, Jokić joked "it's easy" to put up those numbers when you are stat-padding.

Perkins said last week on First Take that Jokić was deliberately taking fewer shots and making more passes in an attempt to accumulate assists (starts at :10 mark).

Jokić is one of six players in NBA history with at least 100 career triple-doubles. He joins a group that includes Russell Westbrook (198), Oscar Robertson (181), Magic Johnson (138) Jason Kidd (107) and LeBron James (106).

There are certainly instances of players trying to pad their stats, even to the detriment of their team's success.

Westbrook is one of the most obvious examples of the stat-padding phenomenon. He has four seasons averaging a triple-double, yet his teams never won more than 49 games and lost in the first round of the playoffs all four times.

Jokić, who is pursuing his third consecutive MVP award, is averaging a triple-double with 24.6 points, 11.7 rebounds and 10.0 assists per game this season. If you want to argue he's trying to pad his stats because his field-goal attempts are down, a counter point would be that he's been more efficient with career-highs in field-goal percentage (63.3) and three-point percentage (39.8).

Another reason Jokić might be more comfortable passing instead of taking shots is because Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. are healthy this season. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is shooting 45.1 percent from three-point range. Aaron Gordon and Bruce Brown are making more than 38 percent of their attempts behind the arc.

Tuesday's win over the Rockets is a good example. Jokić only scored 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting, but he had 11 rebounds (five offensive) and 10 assists. The Nuggets as a team shot 57.6 percent from the field and went 16-of-37 from three-point range.

Unlike when Westbrook was actively going for triple-doubles, Jokić is helping his team win games. The Nuggets have the best record in the Western Conference with a 44-19 record. They are 5.5 games ahead of the No. 2 seed Memphis Grizzlies.