The dark horse of the West has failed miserably!Doncic is alone, and Jokic has a rare triple-double
With December 19 in Beijing, the NBA's regular season began, and the Mavericks lost to the Nuggets at home, losing by 26 points. In this game, Doncic played well, scoring 38 points, but he couldn't turn the situation around. Jokic also got his rare three triple-doubles.
Previously, the Nuggets finished in 4th place in the West with a 17-10 record. With reduced bench thickness and competition across the West, Denver already has a 60 percent win rate. But teams across the West have been strong this season, with Minnesota's 20-5 win rate over 80 percent and the Thunder nearly 70 percent winning rate. So, in the top 10 in the East, the Nuggets have a win rate of more than 53%.
Prior to the game, Jokic was the leader of the Nuggets, averaging 27 points per game.124 rebounds and 95 assists. In contrast, the Mavericks' Doncies average 32 points per game7 points 83 rebounds and 91 assist. This is also the first time in NBA history that both of them can score 27+8+9 in a season, and the last time was 16-17 Harden and Westbrook. Prior to the game, Jokic was awarded the "Western Conference of the Month" award, while Doncic finished with 368 points, 8 rebounds, 11With 5 assists, he led his team to a 3-1 win for this year's "Weekly Awards". However, the United States expressed doubts about Doncic's behavior of "buying and returning the pearl", saying that Leonard was more effective.
So far, the Mavericks are in third place in the East with a 16-9 record, but they have been plagued by injuries and Irving has been out for a long time. So, the Mavericks pinned their hopes on Doncic.
With the confrontation between Jokic and Doncic, the two sides kicked off. In the first quarter, the Nuggets led the one-handed team 28-20. Jokic used a wrap-and-wrap strategy to contain Doncic, while others played well. In the half, Doncic scored 28 points alone, and Jokic had six five rebounds and three assists to lead the Mavericks with a score of 68-59.
In the second half, the Nuggets relied on the wonderful play of Strauser and Nagy to further stretch the score away. Despite Doncic's excellent performance in the game, Denver dominated the game, leading their opponents by more than 20 points. In the end, the Nuggets won 104-130 over Dallas. Jokic had a triple-double, eight rebounds and seven assists.