The Denver team managed to get on the wings Nikola Jokić there was another victory, and this time Orlando Magic was defeated with a score of 126:115. The new masterful game of the Serbian center and the new triple-double for months are nothing new, but an ordinary match of Nikola Jokić.
However, last night's game in which Jokić led Denver to the sixth victory in a row was historic. The Serbian center finished the game with 23 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists, which was enough to break a new record.
This is the total number of career assists for players in the center position. The celebrated 78-year-old Kareem Abdul-Jabbar collected 5.660 during his career, which is an average of 3,6 per game, playing for the Milwaukee Bucks and LA Lakers.
Jokić's crucial assist came at 6:26 left in the crucial second quarter when he passed to Jalen Pickett, who scored for three. The 30-year-old Serbian overtook one of the NBA legends in another parameter. Since being selected by the Nuggets in the 2014 draft, he has recorded 5.667 assists in the NBA.
There are no more centers ahead of Jokic, who is now the 50th most successful assist in NBA history. Next in line is Larry Bird, and he will tie with the Boston legend as soon as he registers another 28 assists.
"I drink beer and lie to children"
After the match, the Serb said that the victory was not easy, but that he and his teammates controlled the game, especially in the first half.
"In the end, they started to play a little more physically. I think we didn't respond well at one point, but we gathered ourselves quickly and reacted properly, so in the end it was a good victory for us," Jokić was satisfied.
He doesn't care too much about records, and he showed that in sharing his impressions of surpassing the legend, for which he needed 789 games less than Abdul Jabbar.
"I always say that these are things that only come after the career. It is a kind of legacy that I will look back on one day, when I finish my career. Then I will sit, drink beer and lie to my children," Jokić made everyone in the hall laugh.
Will another record be broken?
It has long been clear that American basketball has turned into a statistics, records and money-filled spectacle. Every now and then news arrives from the NBA that some player is the first ever in some parameter.
From the more realistic ones, say the total number of points or assists, to the ones that can give you a headache, like - the first player to record at least 30 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists while shooting over 50 percent.
One of those records that actually mean something, that is, have some weight, is the record for the number of triple-doubles recorded in a career. The Serbian basketball player is currently in third place on the all-time list, but if he continues to play in the same or a similar rhythm, there is a high probability that this record will also be in the hands of Nikola Jokić.
Together with last night's, he recorded 177 such, and only Oscar Robertson with 181, and former teammate Russell Westbrook with 207 are ahead of him.
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