Nikola Jokić reached a new high in a Hall of Fame career on Saturday. It wasn’t enough to avoid a loss to the worst team in the NBA.
Jokić’s Denver Nuggets fell to the Washington Wizards 122-113 despite the three-time MVP posting 56 points on 22-of-38 shooting, along with 16 rebounds and eight assists. The win broke a 16-game losing streak for Washington, whose record remains an NBA-worst 3-18. Every other NBA team has at least five wins.
In the case of Jokić, the career high wasn’t a reflection of brilliance so much as a lack of other options on the Nuggets. Jamal Murray (hamstring) and Aaron Gordon (calf) were both out Saturday, essentially leaving the big man as options No. 1, 2 and 3 for a team that is now 11-10.
Every non-Jokić Denver player combined to shoot 24-for-56 with 10 turnovers. The bigger issue might have been on defense though, as the NBA’s worst team by offensive rating looked downright competent facing the shorthanded Nuggets.
Jordan Poole finished the game with 39 points on 12-of-26 shooting (9-of-20 from 3-point range) with eight assists. G League veteran Justin Champagnie, who had played roughly four-and-a-half minutes in the NBA before Thursday, had 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting.
There aren’t going to be many losses worse than that in the NBA this season, even if the Nuggets were shorthanded and the Wizards got the rare Jordan Poole 2022 vintage game.
Denver now faces the second half of a back-to-back with a road game against the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday, before the NBA schedule pauses for the in-season tournament.