Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I hope you find something better to do tonight than watch the Jets get plastered by the Patriots.
In today’s SI:AM:
🏀 Jokić goes off
🏈 Special teams renaissance
🤫 Luka on Nico
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Another MVP for Joker?
Now that Nikola Jokić is in his 11th season in the NBA and has three MVP awards under his belt, I should probably stop being so surprised whenever he puts up a ridiculous stat line. But he topped himself on Wednesday night against the Clippers.
Jokić had 55 points on 18-for-23 shooting with 12 rebounds and six assists in a 130–116 Denver win in Los Angeles. That marks the first time that the Nuggets have won a game when Jokić scored at least 50 points, having lost on all four previous occasions. Jokić played just 34 minutes in the game, sitting out the vast majority of the fourth quarter as the Nuggets protected a sizable lead. He had 52 points by the end of the third quarter (in 31 minutes played).
Jokić is the first player in NBA history to score at least 55 points on 23 or fewer field goal attempts and the sixth player to score that many points in 34 minutes or fewer. (There have been nine instances of a player scoring 55 points in no more than 34 minutes of playing time. Kobe Bryant and James Harden both did it twice.)
“They went through a lot of defensive schemes,” teammate Aaron Gordon said of the Clippers’ attempts to contain Jokić. “None of them worked. I mean, he was cooking tonight. So I mean, you tip your cap.”
What makes Jokić such a dangerous player is that he’s an equally effective offensive threat whether he’s the one taking the shot or he’s creating opportunities for others. He’s an accurate and creative shooter, but he’s also an elite passer, capable of finding open teammates with passes few others would even think to attempt. Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said after Wednesday’s game that his defensive game plan was intended to minimize Jokić’s abilities as a facilitator. The problem was that Jokić was more than happy to do the scoring himself.
“Our game plan was to make him score and just take away his passing, take everybody else out of the game,” Lue said. “I didn’t think he would score 55.”
Jokić and the new-look Nuggets are off to a fantastic 9–2 start to the season. They lost their opening game against the Warriors in overtime and then suffered a last-second loss to the Trail Blazers in an NBA Cup game on Oct. 31. They have won six straight since.
Much of the core of the team that has been near the top of the Western Conference for several years remains intact. Jokić, who is complemented by Gordon and Jamal Murray, is still the engine that makes everything run, but the Nuggets made one notable trade in the offseason to shake up the roster that had mostly been the same since they won the championship in 2023. They traded sharpshooting forward Michael Porter Jr. to the Nets after six seasons in Denver, receiving forward Cameron Johnson in return. Johnson has struggled early in his time in Denver (averaging just 7.2 points per game, compared to 18.8 last season with Brooklyn), but the trade was as much about saving money on the salary cap as it was landing another frontcourt piece. Johnson’s salary this season is $17 million lower than Porter’s, which allowed the Nuggets to sign veterans Bruce Brown and Tim Hardaway Jr. and trade for Jonas Valančiūnas—all three of whom have been key bench players.
The Nuggets also have a new coach. David Adelman (the son of longtime NBA coach Rick Adelman) took over as the interim coach last year when Michael Malone was fired in the final week of the season after 10 years in charge. Adelman was hired on a full-time basis days after the Nuggets were eliminated from the playoffs.
Those changes are working out just fine for Denver over the first three weeks of the season, especially when it comes to defense. The Nuggets rank third in the NBA in defensive efficiency this season after ranking 22nd last year. Defense has been the Nuggets’ primary weakness over the past several seasons. If they’re able to sustain this early success on that side of the ball, they could challenge the defending champion Thunder for the top spot in the West.
The best of Sports Illustrated
- Knuckleball kickoffs, blocked field goals and 60-plus-yard bombs have turned special teams from an afterthought into the NFL’s most disruptive phase—Conor Orr breaks down how this third facet of the game suddenly reshaped the 2025 season.
- Luka Dončić finally addressed Nico Harrison’s firing, offering gratitude for his time in Dallas and the team’s fans while making it clear where his focus is now—and how he really feels about a possible Mavericks reunion, Chris Mannix reports.
- Bryan Fischer outlines the growing standoff between the Big Ten and SEC over the future College Football Playoff format and why their competing visions, with a Dec. 1 deadline looming, could reshape who actually gets a path to the title.
- The NFL has quietly demonstrated how to handle a President eager to turn the league into a political prop, with Roger Goodell’s approach offering a potential blueprint for navigating Donald Trump, as Mike Rosenberg explains.
- In his latest mailbag, Albert Breer lays out why the Chiefs remain clear AFC West favorites, what’s gone wrong with the Colts’ offense, how the coaching carousel could spin next and whether the Dolphins can still salvage their season.
The top five…
… things I saw last night:
5. A great block by Cooper Flagg.
4. A nasty deke by the Blackhawks’ Sam Lafferty for a go-ahead goal in the third period.
3. Devils defenseman Šimon Nemec’s hat trick against Chicago, including the game-tying goal late in the third and the overtime game-winner.
2. The chaotic finish to the North Texas-Oregon State men’s basketball game. UNT called a timeout in the final seconds after it had already used all of its timeouts and the Beavers hit two technical free throws to win it.
1. Hannah Hidalgo’s preposterous game for Notre Dame. She finished with 44 points and an NCAA record 16 steals.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as SI:AM | Nikola Jokić Erupts for 55 as Nuggets Top Clippers.
