Is there anything Nikola Jokic can't do?
In the Nuggets' 132-126 victory over the Lakers in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, Jokic did a bit of everything, finishing with 34 points (on 12-of-17 shooting), 21 rebounds, and 14 assists. It's his third consecutive triple-double and his sixth in 12 playoff games.
Seriously, he did it all.
Nikola Jokic has a spectacular Game 1 as the @nuggets secure a 1-0 lead!
— NBA (@NBA) May 17, 2023
34 PTS (12-17 FG)
21 REB
14 AST
Game 2: Thursday, 8:30pm/et on ESPN pic.twitter.com/hK0GG8l5Db
Naturally, a performance of Jokic's caliber is one capable of rewriting history books. With his stat line, Jokic became the first player in NBA history with multiple playoff games of 30-plus points, 20-plus rebounds and 10-plus assists — he now accounts for half of such playoff games in NBA history.
Oh, and he also moved into third all-time on the NBA's playoff triple-double leaderboard.
MORE: Nuggets survive late Lakers' rally, take Game 1 of Western Conference Finals
Just how impressive was Jokic in Game 1? He entered halftime with 19 points, 16 rebounds, and seven assists. Throughout the night, Jokic appeared to have the magic touch, especially on shots like his buzzer-beating 3 to finish the third quarter.
JOKIC AT THE BUZZER 🚨
— NBA (@NBA) May 17, 2023
31 PTS, 19 REB, 12 AST 🔥
End 3Q on ESPN pic.twitter.com/f62Fa0fOiE
"Just to win the game," Jokic said of the keys to his success in Game 1. "I didn't have any [agenda] going into the game … I was just trying to win the game and [thankfully], we did it."
And while Jokic may have humbly downplayed his impressive performance, it was a hot topic of discussion throughout the night.
"Damn Jokic," tweeted Cavs All-Star Donovan Mitchell, while Hawks guard Dejounte Murray pointed out the absurdity of Jokic's stat line from the center position before saying "JOKIC DIFFERENT."
MORE: Why Anthony Davis vs. Nikola Jokic matchup will decide Western Conference Finals
Nuggets guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who played with LeBron James in LA, was very complimentary of his current teammate:
"I feel like the only difference is that Bron can jump higher than Jokic — that's the only difference that I can see. I just love playing with Jokic, he's a willing passer — a dominant big man down there and seeing him do what he does gets everybody going as well."
"There's no one person that's gonna stop him," Lakers head coach Darvin Ham said of adjustments made to slow Jokic down. "It has to be done by committee. You have to switch matchups at times, and you have to switch up coverages."
The Lakers were able to slow Jokic down some in the second half, but the damage was done, as Denver led by as many as 21 points before LA's late rally came up short.
Denver is now 7-0 at home this postseason and will look to again improve upon that record when it hosts LA at Ball Arena in Game 2 of the series.
Whether or not Jokic can replicate his Game 1 performance remains to be seen, but the two-time MVP continues to string together a historic playoff run as his team looks to advance to the Finals for the first time in franchise history.
