Everything Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray Said About Historic Box Score, Cooper Flagg Reacts
Nikola Jokić (23 points, 21 rebounds, 19 assists) and Jamal Murray (53 points) made history on Wednesday night in leading the Denver Nuggets to a 142-135 win over the Dallas Mavericks.
The Nuggets became the the first NBA team to have one player score at least 50 points and another player put up a triple-double with at least 15 in all three categories.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Jokić talked about how both of them are "still growing and still performing" after all these years together.
"How we both started, the path that we had, from nobody to somebody into a championship—and still growing and still performing," Jokić said.
Murray explained that he feels like the "best chemistry" he has with Jokić is when one of them isn't playing up to their usual standards (starts at 3:33 mark).
"I feel like our best chemistry is when we're not [both playing well]," said Murray. "Sometimes he's having a rough day and I'll pick up the slack, and then there's days when I'm not doing anything and he takes over. There's not tug-of-war with the ball; there's no animosity of who's shooting it."
On the losing end of the spectrum (starts at :10 mark), Mavs rookie Cooper Flagg called Murray's performance "impressive" and thought they were playing good defense on him but he was able to make shots anyway.
In addition to his praise of Murray (starts at 1:31 mark), Flagg said he can "learn a lot" from the way Jokić plays the game and how he can "affect" the game at times when it looks like he's not even trying.
The performances by Jokić and Murray had to feel like a breath of fresh air for the Nuggets for a few reasons, not least of which is losing a game against a Mavericks team that's limping to the finish line would have been rough for a team with title aspirations.
Denver is also part of a tight four-team race for seeding in the Western Conference. The Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Houston Rockets are all separated by three games in the loss column.
The Lakers currently lead that group for the No. 3 seed. One huge benefit of being in third or sixth spot, as opposed to four or five, is the probability of avoiding the Oklahoma City Thunder until the Western Conference Finals, assuming the Thunder hold off the San Antonio Spurs for the No. 1 seed.
San Antonio has been incredible this season, but there aren't a lot of historical precedents for a team that has missed the playoffs in six consecutive seasons to make the Finals in its first year back in the postseason.
The Nuggets have now won four straight games, their longest streak since Jan. 11-17. Jokić has recorded three straight triple-doubles with at least 14 rebounds and 14 assists in all three games.
Murray's 53 points were his second-highest total in a game. He put up 55 on Feb. 12, 2025.
The Nuggets have a chance to get their winning streak up to seven games going into an April 4 showdown with the Spurs. They play the Utah Jazz twice and Golden State Warriors leading up to a matchup against the Spurs in Denver.
