The Denver Nuggets reclaimed the top seed in the Western Conference after defeating the San Antonio Spurs Tuesday night. It was a highly-anticipated matchup between big men Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama. The 2-time MVP got the better of the 7’5 rookie as he dropped 42 points and 16 rebounds to lead Denver to a 110-105 victory. Tonight’s win marked Jokic’s third straight triumph over Wembanyama for the season; sparking high praises for the 20-year-old from the Joker.
Although Victor Wembanyama could not take down the defending Champions, he had a great showing in tonight’s game. Wemby nearly had a rare quadruple-double, scoring 23 points, 15 rebounds, 9 blocks, and 8 assists. His all-around performance impressed Jokic as he revealed after the game what makes Wembanyama a special player. The Joker claimed the 20-year-old is hungry, humble, and works hard. “That’s a good combination,” Jokic added.
Jokic said of Wemby that he’s hungry, he works hard, and he’s humble. “That’s a good combination.”
— Adam Mares (@Adam_Mares)
Jokic and Wembanyama have faced each other three times this season, and the rookie has held his own against the 2-time MVP despite losing on all occasions. Wemby has averaged an impressive 20.7 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 5.3 blocks against Jokic. Those are some impressive stats for a rookie going against a probable 3-time MVP. These early encounters between Jokic and Wembanyama might be a sign of things to come. Wembanyama has a long path of growth to walk, and Jokic is still in the middle of his prime. So, more historic duels between the two stars in the future seem like a given.
Nikola Jokic brought his A-game against Victor Wembanyama
It was not easy for Nikola Jokic to get another win over Victor Wembanyama. The 2-time MVP headed into tonight’s game without his co-star Jamal Murray, who has missed 6 straight games due to a knee injury. Murray has been crucial for Jokic’s success this year. He has assisted Jokic 140 times this season, more than any other Nuggets player. So, Jokic had to handle business on his own in his best playmaker’s absence.
Jokic set the tone early after he went deep in his bag during the first quarter and scored over Wemby with a rare one-handed dunk. Jokic saw Wembanyama coming for a block from the corner of his eye and dunked the ball with authority. The two stars smiled and shared some words after the play. Jokic revealed his intentions behind dunking over Wemby during his post-game interview, “At least I’m going to be aggressive and try to dunk it. Like, why not? It was funny.”
Nikola Jokic on his dunk near Victor Wembanyama:
“At least I’m going to be aggressive and try to dunk it. Like, why not? It was funny.”
On if he said anything to Wemby after that dunk:
“If you block one more shot, I’m going to-”
*Pauses*
“But he blocked like four after that,…
— Ryan Blackburn (@NBABlackburn)
But the Nuggets star did not forget to praise Wemby’s shot-blocking ability despite dunking on him. “He blocked like four after that, so I didn’t do anything about it.”
Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama will face each other one more time before the end of this season. Their final clash will take place on 12th April in San Antonio. And it will be interesting to see if Wembanyama gets his first win over Jokic, or if the 2-time MVP sweeps the rookie in his first season.
