Boston Celtics big men Tristan Thompson and Robert Williams were introduced to a unicorn Tuesday night.
Denver Nuggets do-it-all center Nikola Jokic put together a head-scratching, jaw-dropping performance at TD Garden despite what seemed to be very solid defense from Thompson and Williams.
Jokic scored a game-high 43 points on just 23 shots (16-for-23 from the field), doing everything he could to lead the visiting Nuggets over the Celtics. Boston, though, snapped a two-game losing streak with a 112-99 victory.
“I thought both those guys gave everything they had on Jokic,” Celtics head coach Brad Stevens told reporters after the game. “Jokic is a load. Obviously, with all the fakes, his ability to draw fouls, his able to score the ball and obviously his incredible passing ability. He is a tough, tough cover.”
Jokic scored 27 of his 43 points in the first half. He was 10-for-12 from the field including 3-for-3 from long range. But his ability as a passer, as Stevens explained, still made the Celtics very leery of throwing more defenders his way.
“Even with 29 points in the first half you were looking at it like scared to death to double (team) because a lot of his field goals were worth two (points),” Stevens said. “And (if) he starts spraying that ball around for open threes, and everybody else gets going? That becomes a real problem. He’s a problem.”
Jokic scored another 10 points in the third quarter after making a handful of very difficult shots. The Celtics did, at times, throw more defenders on him, one of which led to a Javonte Green steal and transition dunk, but for the most part they were willing to let Jokic have those contested jumpers.
“I thought both guys (Thompson, Williams) did a good job on him as far as making him earn it, making it hard,” Stevens said.
Jokic looked like he was set to surpass his career-high of 50 points, but came up short. The two-time All-NBA talent averaged 26.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and 8.7 assists entering Tuesday’s contest.
