DENVER — Nikola Jokic sat in front of his locker, calmly scrolling through his phone, seemingly unimpressed that 30 minutes earlier he made some significant hoops history.
The three-time NBA MVP had the league’s first 30-20-20 triple-double in the Denver Nuggets’ 149-141 overtime victory over the Phoenix Suns on Friday night. Jokic had 31 points, 21 rebounds and a career-high 22 assists.
“It’s not supposed go that way,” the 6-foot-11, 284-pound center said. “I was talking to (Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon), and he said to me, ‘That was a quiet 30 points.’ I didn’t do anything special; just seemed like everyone was in flow.”
Jokic tied his franchise record with his 29th triple-double of the season, and he reached it just 1:20 into the second half with his 10th rebound. He was approaching the triple-double early, finishing the first quarter with 10 points, six assists and six rebounds, and he had 13, nine and eight by halftime.
The 30-year-old from Serbia is averaging a triple-double with 19 games left in the regular season for Denver. His 28.9 points, 12.9 rebounds and 10.6 assists per game all rank in the top three in the NBA.
“I can’t describe him, so don’t ask me to,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said of Jokic, who was also NBA Finals MVP in Denver’s title run two years ago. “The guy is just an incredible player, and when you are one of one in this league, with the tremendous history of this league, that says a lot. There’s a lot of good players in this league, but Nikola, in my opinion, is just in a class all by himself.”
His fast start to overtime lifted the Nuggets (41-22) after they had blown a 21-point lead against the Suns (29-34). He had five points, five assists and three rebounds in the extra period, playing nearly 45 minutes overall.
He made a four-foot turnaround shot to begin overtime, fed Jamal Murray for two baskets, then assisted on a dunk and layup by Christian Braun in a 13-second span.
“He’s just one of a kind,” Braun said. “You’ll never see something like this ever again — ever. You’ll never see a player that does the things he does night in and night out.”
Jokic’s previous career high in assists was 19 during Denver’s 125-116 road win against the Indiana Pacers on Feb. 24, and he surpassed that Friday on Michael Porter Jr.’s dunk that pushed the Nuggets’ lead to 139-130 with 1:18 left.
Jokic has 149 career triple-doubles, and Friday was the seventh time this season he has posted at least 15 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists, tying Oscar Robertson for the most triple-doubles of that type in one NBA season.
His 22 assists are the most by a center in a game, but he is far short of Scott Skiles’ NBA record of 30, a mark he isn’t concerned about.
Said Jokic: “I have different problems than that right now.”