Nikola Jokic had a message for the section of the Ball Arena crowd that booed his team through a wretched first half on Saturday: do not bother coming back.
The Nuggets’ home opener had been headed for an embarrassing night. New Orleans shot 65.9% in the first half, built a 23-point lead and still led 108-89 heading into the fourth quarter, with ESPN’s win probability model putting the Pelicans at 98.7% to win early in the final period. Denver came back anyway, and the three-time MVP did not take the booing lightly once it was over.
“I think those fans who booed us, they don’t need to come anymore,” Jokic told reporters after the game. “Because if you guys follow us, you know that we never quit, and we came back from much worse for similar situations. So if they ask me, they’re not welcome anymore.”
Past Westbrook on the combined list
Jokic finished with 35 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists. It was the 222nd triple-double of his career once playoff games are counted alongside the regular season, one more than Russell Westbrook’s career total of 221 and enough to leave him alone at the top of the all-time list on that combined measure.
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Westbrook, who announced his retirement in August after 18 seasons, finished with 209 regular-season and 12 postseason triple-doubles across 135 playoff appearances. Jokic has reached the same place in dramatically fewer playoff games. His postseason total alone sits at 23 in 100 games, nearly double Westbrook’s playoff haul, and it is that gap that pushed him past his former teammate.
Westbrook’s regular-season record of 209 still stands. Jokic is on 199 and averaging roughly 31 triple-doubles a season since 2020, which puts the second record within range before the All-Star break if the pace holds.
Murray’s 42 and the fourth-quarter surge
The comeback itself belonged as much to Jamal Murray as to Jokic. Murray finished with 42 points on 12-of-25 shooting and went 8-of-16 from three, the most three-pointers by a Nuggets player in a home opener. He carried the scoring load through the third and fourth quarters as Denver chipped away at a deficit that had reached 23 points.
Rookie Trevon Brazile added 17 points, nine rebounds and two blocks, including a decisive putback down the stretch. Christian Braun scored 15 and DeMar DeRozan 12.
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Jokic took over in the extra period, scoring eight of his points and grabbing seven rebounds in the five-minute overtime. The 19-point fourth-quarter rally tied a franchise record, matching Denver’s 2019 comeback against Philadelphia.
Head coach David Adelman singled out Brazile for keeping his composure as the Nuggets clawed back, saying the rookie’s biggest achievement was earning the trust of the team’s veterans on a night when the margin for error had vanished.
Denver returns to Ball Arena on Monday, October 26, when the Golden State Warriors visit at 8:00 PM Mountain Time.
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