Nikola Jokic, who continues in the race for the MVP, dazzled again this Monday after scoring a triple double of 25 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists. The Serbian player for the Nuggets, who signed the triple double number 104 of his career, joins Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson as the only ones in history to add 10 games in a season at 20-15-10.
But the victory of the Denver team against the Philadelphia 76ers without Joel Embiid or James Harden (116-111) was involved in controversy due to the absence of the Cameroonian center, who is Jokic’s main rival in the fight for the MVP.
In an interview on ‘The Athletic’, Embiid spoke about the pressure that is being put on him to win the MVP. “When they talk about who has the most pressure to win, I shouldn’t be at the top of the list: I wasn’t a two-time MVP, I wasn’t an All-NBA 1st Team. So…why do they pressure me to achieve something when there are others who They have all that and they haven’t won yet?” he questioned.
The 76ers player also acknowledged that he feels like “the bad guy in the movie.” “I really think I’m not well liked. And that’s fine with me. I’ll be the bad guy. I’m like an idiot anyway, but when I retire I want to make sure they say: no one could stop him offensively or defensively, he was a monster. I’d like to think I’m a fucking monster,” he said.
In strictly sports terms, the Philadelphia team has a demanding schedule in the coming days, with duels against the Dallas Mavericks, the Toronto Raptors, the Boston Celtics, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Miami Heat. Those from Denver, already mathematically classified for the playoffs, will face the New Orleans Pelicans, the Phoenix Suns and the Golden State Warriors.
Another of the protagonists of the day in the NBA was Luka Doncic, who ended the streak of four consecutive losses for the Dallas Mavericks. The NBA annulled the suspension that weighed on him for his sixteenth technique, and the Slovenian led with 25 points a momentous victory for the Mavericks in the field of the Pacers (104-127).
The Mavericks (37-39) pressure the Lakers (37-38) for the tenth place, the last one that gives access to the ‘play-in’.
