Nikola Jokic scores triple-double, Denver Nuggets easily overtake Boston Celtics
The highlight match of today's matchday (2/1) takes place between the Denver Nuggets and the Boston Celtics. Both teams are in high form and top the table in both regions.
The Boston Celtics marched to the Ball Arena with a fairly thick force after the return of bigman Robert Williams and "6th-man" Malcolm Brogdon. In contrast, the home team Denver Nuggets lacks the service of the main ball player - Jamal Murray due to injury.
The heat of this match also comes from two names competing for the title of MVP this year, Nikola Jokic and Jayson Tatum. The winner of this important match will have a huge plus in the race to the most prestigious individual title in the tournament.
The first round was played at a very fast pace. The two teams constantly heated the machine to compare each other score. However, with a run of 12-2 in the middle of the half, the Denver Nuggets were the team to take the lead.
As usual Nikola Jokic is still the leader in both attack and defense of the home team. From scoring, rebounding, he also had passes that put teammates in a favorable position to finish.
Entering the second half, the home team was still the ones who took the initiative. At times, the gap was about to hit double digits, but Jayson Tatum promptly scored the points to help Boston Celtic shorten the gap before entering the halftime break. The score 62-54 temporarily tilted in favor of the home team after the end of the first half of the match.
It seemed that after the break, coach Joe Mazzulla on the away team would come up with solutions to counter the attacks of the Denver Nuggets.
But with Jokic's intelligence, the home team is still the ones who take the initiative. The difference was increased to 13 before entering the final round.
With 3 consecutive 3 points of young player Nah'Shon Hyland at the beginning of the 4th half, the Denver Nuggets almost put an end to this match.
Although the game was adjourned due to a backboard problem following a Robert Williams dunk, the Denver Nuggets retained their home win. Final score 123-111.
Nikola Jokic got himself a triple double with 30 points, 12 rebounds, 12 assists and of course won the MVP title in this match. Bruce Brown and Michael Porter Jr also played quite well with 21 and 19 points respectively. Aaron Gordon also had a round game with 18 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists.
Jaylen Brown is the leading scorer on the Celtics side with 30 points and 8 rebounds. Jayson Tatum is right behind with 25 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, but he did not have any 3-pointers in this game.
Winning this important game, the Denver Nuggets cemented the top spot in the West with a 24-12 record. Tomorrow they will march to Target Center to face the Minnesota Timberwolves who are in very poor form. The match will take place tomorrow at 8:00 am Vietnam time.
As for the Boston Celtics, they were interrupted by a series of 4 consecutive victories. In the next round, they will again come to the field of Oklahoma City Thunder. The team is living on the wings of young star Shai-Alexander. The match will take place at 8:00 am on January 4.
