Nikola Jokic’s Triple-Double Helps Denver Outsmart Orlando

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Nobody normalizes a triple-double average leading to a win more than Nikola Jokic.

Entering his 52nd NBA regular season game, the Serbian superstar tallied another monster triple-double that lifted the Denver Nuggets against the Orlando Magic, 112-90, on February 7, 2025.

Jokic put up 28 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists, his 24th overall triple-double of the ongoing season in just a limited playing time of 31 minutes due to the one-sided affair.

The three-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) put his imprints on the game early in the opening quarter and attacked the loose Orlando interior defense at will.

After three consecutive isolation post-up buckets against Goga Bitadze and Paolo Banchero, the Nuggets stuck to what is efficient and fed the waxing hot big man in the shaded lane.

However, Orlando quickly adjusted in the following frame and deployed hard double-team coverages on Jokic which led to his offensive game slowing down.

Little did the Magic know that they were in for something worse, as Jokic as a distributor, is as dangerous as he is as an offensive weapon.

Midway through the second until the third, Jokic dissected Orlando’s gaps and found his open teammates everywhere on the floor that sparked their massive 33-17 rally heading into the fourth.

With Denver’s biggest lead ballooning to as much as 33 points, Jokic barely played in the final period while Orlando waived the white flag with eight minutes still remaining in the last quarter.

Jokic’s top beneficiary of his sick court vision was Michael Porter Jr. who erupted for a game-high 30-point outing built from an efficient 11/16 shooting from the field including five drained three-pointers.

Also standing out for the Nuggets was their spark plug, Christian Braun, who delivered an all-around outing of 16 markers, eight rebounds, four assists, and three steals.

With another lopsided win, the Nuggets just extended their NBA winning streak to five consecutive games. They will look to maintain their perfect form on February 9, 2025, against the Phoenix Suns.